Pretty Little Sitters
by eghopper
Summary: Two years ago, the Baby Sitters Club broke up. Now secrets, lies, and the death of one of their own will bring them back together.
1. Chapter 1

"I'm sorry for your loss."

The words echoed again and again through the church as figures symbolically clad in black moved slowly, despondently. Sunlight peering through the opulent stained glass windows was stark contrast to the dark and dismal mood inside.

"I can't believe this is happening," Kristy Thomas whispered, fussing with the hem of her black lace dress. She had been a tomboy all her life, and though she had recently began making an effort to be more feminine, she wasn't used much outside of denim and cotton. Speaking of cotton, Kristy gave herself a quick mental reminder to check Craigslist for cheap uniforms for Kristy's Krushers, the Little League team she coached.

Her older brother Charlie, sitting next to her, shifted uncomfortably in his seat, squeezing the hand of his girlfriend – Janine Kishi. Janine stared straight ahead stoically. Her genius mind undoubtedly calculating something unfathomable. Meanwhile Charlie was probably lost in shallow thoughts of football and pizza. The two, a classic case of opposites attract, had been an item for well over a year.

Across the church, Kristy's other older brother, Sam, was being led to a back row pew by his girlfriend, Stacey McGill.

"Let's just sit back here," Stacey said.

"Fine by me," Sam mumbled and glanced toward Kristy, Charlie and Janine as Stacey snuggled up next to him.

Stacey and Sam had been together – officially together – for about six months. Ever since Stacey's sixteenth birthday. Lately Stacey had been considering telling Sam that she was in love with him. Maybe after the funeral, she decided with a heavy sigh, idly wondering why the word "fun" was in funeral. Funerals were most definitely not fun at all. Fun would be heading up to her beloved hometown of New York City for a much deserved shopping spree. If only she hadn't maxed out her dad's credit card and been grounded from shopping for three months.

Suddenly, her body tensed as a girl dressed in a sleeveless white button up, royal blue bow tie, black tuxedo pants, cheetah print suspenders, hot pink Doc Martens, rainbow colored giant feather earrings, an arm full of silver and gold bangle bracelets, and black fedora with a giant red carnation pinned to the brim walked by.

The unmistakable Claudia Kishi.

Claudia noticed Stacey in her peripheral vision, but chose to ignore her. It had been nearly two years since the Babysitters Club (aka BSC) had disbanded, but the wounds were still fresh. Every time Claudia saw any of the former members, her stomach felt like she had put the Pop Rocks from her sock drawer into the Cherry Coke from her art supply box and shook them up for an hour. Things had not ended well. There was bad blood amongst the ex-BSC, to say the least. And it seemed only a funeral could bring them back together.

Claudia tried to push the thoughts out of her head as she slid into a pew with her best friend, Ashley Wyeth. She had moved on in her life – away from babysitting. Away from Kristy's dictatorship. She was free now. Free to be the artist she had always wanted to be.

"Claudia," Ashley whispered, "Have you asked your parents about the summer art retreat yet?"

Claudia shook her head, getting that Pop Rock in Coke feeling again. That retreat was over $2000. No way her parents would pay for that.

Claudia's thoughts were interrupted by a familiar face taking a seat right in front of her. It was the tear-stained yet emotionally vacant face of Mary Anne Spier. By her side, a stone-faced Logan Bruno.

"Are they back together?" Claudia hissed.

"Who cares?" Ashley replied bitterly.

Mary Anne heard them. And no, she and Logan were not back together. Though it seemed to be their pattern. Breaking up, getting back together, breaking up again, getting back together again. Over and over. Lather, rinse, repeat.

Logan had seen Mary Anne outside the church, lingering, avoiding going in. He knew what was wrong. He knew things about her that no one else knew. It was probably what kept them going back to each other. The secrets. Logan had been kind enough to escort Mary Anne in. But once she was seated, he promptly returned to his girlfriend – Cokie Mason.

Mary Anne wasn't jealous. She wasn't anything. Just numb. Her life had changed dramatically since the demise of the BSC. She wasn't the same Mary Anne. She wasn't really sure who she was anymore. And now this funeral – the unexpected tragedy that had occurred – had her less sure than ever about everything.

I feel like I should be the one in that casket, she thought to herself.

"Is this seat taken?" a voice startled her out of her morose thoughts.

Mary Anne could smell the hemp and sunscreen before she even looked up. Before she saw the sun bleached hair and west coast tan, she knew.

It was Dawn Schafer. Her step-sister.

"I tried to call you to tell you I was coming," Dawn slid in next to Mary Anne, "But you didn't answer."

Mary Anne didn't reply. Dawn had moved back to California years ago. And then moved back just before the BSC broke up. It had meant the world to Mary Anne to have Dawn there as her only ally when everything else was crumbling. But then, just a few months later, Dawn decided to move back to California yet again. Mary Anne had tried to be supportive and not let her own selfish feelings get in the way, but deep down she blamed Dawn for abandoning her, thus setting into motion her downward spiral.

Dawn felt bad, too. She had tried so hard to keep in touch with Mary Anne. But Mary Anne put up a wall and became so distant. Dawn barely even recognized her anymore. Of course, sometimes Dawn didn't recognize herself either. When had people become so complicated? When had LIFE become so complicated?

Once upon a time, Stoneybrook had been a happy place. Home of the five best friends you'll ever have. But now it was a dark place with grudges and sadness. And everyone was a stranger.

Dawn started to say something else to Mary Anne, but a hush fell over the room. Dawn craned her neck to see what everyone was reacting to. First she heard the faint squeak of the turning wheels. Then she saw the shiny metal spokes as Jessi Ramsey's wheelchair rolled into the room. Jessi sat primly, almost defiantly, staring straight ahead. Jessi had once been an aspiring ballerina. But now she was wheelchair bound for life.

Dawn's blood ran cold.

Mary Anne's eyes welled up with tears.

Claudia's stomach felt like a giant knot of Twizzlers.

Stacey's perfectly permed and highlighted hair stood on end.

Kristy's unmanicured hands trembled.

The girls may have gone their separate ways, but there was one thing that would forever bind them all together. The Jessi thing. One of their deepest, darkest secrets and biggest, baddest shames. The guilt was insurmountable, even two years later.

Looking from Jessi to the casket, each girl became increasingly uneasy, their minds racing with all that had happened...wondering how things had gone so far...wallowing in the agony of what they had done.

"Family and friends," a booming voice from the pulpit began, "We are here to celebrate the life and mourn the loss of Mallory Pike..."

...

Kristy wobbled on her kitten heeled shoes as she stepped down the stairs of the church after the funeral. She couldn't wait to get home, change into her favorite Stoneybrook High sweats and slip on some Crocs. She wanted to get away from that church as quickly as possible – to not think about the BSC...or the Jessi thing...or what happened to Mallory...

As if on cue, she felt a faint buzz on her wrist. She looked at her Smartwatch. A new text.

 _Poor Mallory. I know what you did. Meet under the oak tree at the corner now. Or else._

 _..._

Kristy stood under the oak tree, biting her nails. Who would send such a text? What did they know? Was it some sort of joke? Or did someone REALLY know something?

"Kristy?" an angry voice exclaimed.

"Stacey?" Kristy whirled around, confused.

"Claudia?" Stacey gaped, looking over Kristy's shoulder as Claudia approached the tree.

"Dawn? Mary Anne?" Claudia gasped in disbelief as the two approached from the other direction.

"What is going on?" Kristy demanded.

"I...I got a text," Stacey stammered, pulling her phone out of her Kate Spade clutch.

"Me, too," Claudia chimed in.

"So did I," Dawn fumed, crossing her arms.

"You, too, Mary Anne?" Kristy asked.

Mary Anne nodded weakly.

"Who sent it?" Kristy hissed.

"It's from a blocked number," Stacey pointed out, "It could be anyone."

The girls looked around, scanning the crowd for a menacing face. They saw a distraught Ben Hobart, sobbing crumpled on the church steps. They saw Cokie Mason hanging on stone-faced Logan Bruno's arm. They saw dozens of familiar and unfamiliar faces gathered around the mourning Pike family. And then they saw Jessi Ramsey, all alone, wheeling herself down the ramp at the side of the church. She paused at the bottom, looked directly at the girls for several seconds with no expression on her face. Then she turned and headed in the opposite direction.

"Do you think she -" Claudia began.

"Shh," Kristy abruptly cut her off. "We said we'd never talk about Jessi again."

"But what if she -" Claudia pressed.

"Seriously, Claudia," Kristy snapped, "Not another word."

The girls watched in silence as Jessi wheeled away.

"Hi-hi!" a voice from behind startled them all.

"Jamie Newton!" Kristy spun around to greet one of their favorite former babysitting charges. Charlotte Johanssen and Jackie Rodowsky stood on either side of him.

"Is the Babysitters Club back together?" Jamie asked hopefully.

"Oh boy!" Charlotte chimed in, her face lighting up, "We've missed you all so much!"

"Yeah!" Jackie agreed, jumping up and smacking his head on a low hanging tree branch.

"Oh...um..." Kristy stammered, "No, buddy...We're not...We're just...uh...hanging out."

"Oh." The three kids frowned in unison and sulked away, leaving their former babysitters feeling twinges of guilt. But time and space hadn't healed the wounds. History could never be undone.

No one knew what to say. But they didn't have to say anything. One by one, their phones beeped and buzzed with text message notifications. And one by one, they read a text that said it all:

 _The BSC must get back together or you're all going down. - B_


	2. Chapter 2

Part 2

"The Babysitters Club is back in business!" Kristy bellowed, beaming as she marched across the front lawn of Stoneybrook High School, handing out fliers. "Tell your parents! Tell your neighbors! Tell everyone you know!"

"Oh my gawd," Stacey groaned, walking several feet behind. "This is humiliating."

"Yeah, but we have no choice," Dawn reminded her. "Someone knows what we did. And for some reason, they want the BSC back together."

"Look on the bright side," Claudia, wearing hot pink leggings, a black oversized button-up silk shirt, a vest made out of old candy wrappers, and white cowboy boots, and hair styled into Princess Leia buns chimed in, "we'll make some extra money!"

"True," Stacey shrugged, daydreaming about the new shoes she could buy. Since her father had taken away her credit cards, her fashion was definitely suffering.

"Alright, guys," Kristy spun around the face the girls, "We've handed out fliers, I put us on , created a BSC Facebook page and twitter account, and sent out a group text to all our old clients. We are officially back!"

"Swell," Stacey muttered sarcastically.

"Enough with the attitude, Stacey," Dawn snapped. "Do you think any of us want to be here?"

"I think SHE does," Stacey gestured hastily toward Kristy. "She's been wanting this all along. She's probably the one who sent that text in the first place!"

Everyone turned to look at Kristy suspiciously.

"Oh come on!" Kristy exclaimed, "It wasn't me!"

"Why should we believe you?" Claudia demanded.

"Because I wouldn't blackmail my friends!" Kristy exclaimed.

The word "friends" seemed to hang there, echoing in everyone's ears. None of them had been "friends" for a long, long time. Things were so messy and complicated, it was hard to find a word to describe them. But "friends" certainly wasn't on the tip of anyone's tongue. Yet now they were bound together by secrets. And babysitting. Would they become friends again? Could they?

"I believe you, Kristy" Mary Anne spoke up.

"Me, too," Dawn agreed.

"I guess I do, too," Claudia chimed in reluctantly. Both her voice and her eyes seeming to contradict her words.

"Fine," Stacey grunted with annoyance, "I'll try to believe you, too."

"Good," Kristy beamed smugly as the bell rang. "Don't forget – meeting tonight at Claudia's. 5:30 sharp. Don't be late!"

Suddenly, twin classmates Mariah and Miranda Shillaber ran up to the group.

"Is it true?" Mariah asked.

"It's SO sad!" Miranda lamented.

"What are you talking about?" Kristy asked.

"About Mallory," Mariah explained.

"Mallory was hit by a car Friday night," Kristy began, confused. "You were at her funeral."

"Duh, we know that," Miranda said. "You haven't heard the latest?"

"Apparently not," Kristy replied, glancing at the equally confused faces of her fellow BSC.

"Last night they found a suicide note!" Mariah whispered dramatically. "It wasn't an accident. Mallory committed suicide!"

The BSC stood in stunned silence as the Shillaber twins scurried away. No one knew what to say. Was it true? Was it really true? Had Mallory taken her own life?

********** 

Dawn headed to her car in the school parking lot. She was only staying in Stoneybrook for a couple more days. Then it was back to sunny California. Honestly, she couldn't wait. If someone really knew about the Jessi thing, she and her former friends were in trouble. She couldn't wait to get on a plane and get 3000 miles away from the situation.

Buzzzz

Dawn's phone vibrated, indicating a new text message.

 _Poor Mallory. You knew. You did nothing. You killed her. Stay in Stoneybrook or the world will know. - B_

Dawn gasped, rereading the words over and over.

Who sent this? Her mind raced wildly. I knew. I did nothing. I killed her. Dawn struggled to breathe normally. This isn't just about the Jessi thing. Someone knows more. But who? And what are they going to do about it?

Meanwhile, Kristy sat in homeroom, jotting down ideas for the BSC resurrection. Now that she was older and wiser, she could turn her cute little babysitting business into a true money making powerhouse. Just as she was daydreaming about adding a Quality Control position to the club, her SmartWatch buzzed with a new text.

 _Poor Mallory. She counted on you. You let her down. Now she's dead. - B_

Kristy's breakfast lurched inside her stomach. Someone knew too much. But how?

Stacey was admiring her reflection in her locker mirror when her phone chimed with a new text message. She dug eagerly through her purse, expecting a good morning text from Sam. But her face went pale when she saw the words on the screen...

 _Poor Mallory. You were a mean girl. Now she's a dead girl. You did this to her. - B_

Stacey went numb. No, she assured herself, I did nothing. It's not my fault. It couldn't be. It couldn't. But a nagging guilt deep inside wouldn't go away.

Claudia was doodling in her notebook when her text came in.

 _Poor Mallory. She wanted to share. She thought there was a connection. She needed you. If only you hadn't been so selfish, she'd still be alive. - B_

Claudia looked around the room nervously. Huh? Was this a joke? She nervously pulled a piece of taffy from her denim fringed purse and began to stress nibble.

"Aw, look. The Baby Club is back in business!" Cokie Mason snorted, waving one of the fliers around. "How cute."

Mary Anne pretended not to hear. Pretended to be absorbed in the book she was pretending to read. Pretended Cokie's very existence didn't absolutely wreck her soul. As she turned the page, a slip of paper fell into Mary Anne's lap.

 _I know what you did to Mallory. Too bad you can't remember. Mary Anne the murderer. -B_

Mary Anne went numb, head to toe. Her book fell to the floor. She was too paralyzed with shock to pick it up. What had she done? 

When Mary Anne got home after school, Dawn was waiting for her in her room.

"We need to talk," Dawn said. She looked pale and scared. "I've decided to stay in Stoneybrook."

"Again?" Mary Anne retorted bitterly. It happened so much, it really wasn't big news anymore. "Dawn the boomerang, bouncing coast to coast for eternity."

"That's harsh," Dawn frowned.

"Whatever," Mary Anne rolled her eyes and sat down at her desk. She began opening books and folders, pretending to busy herself with schoolwork. "I just don't care anymore, Dawn."

Dawn wandered out of the room, stung by Mary Anne's words. She had been planning to tell Mary Anne about the mysterious text – and confide in her about everything. But clearly that wasn't going to happen. Mary Anne was no longer the sympathetic, loving friend and sister she once knew. 

Kristy arrived at Claudia's house at 5:15, eager to start the comeback meeting of the Babysitters Club. She walked in to find Claudia elbow deep in a bin of art supplies, digging out Hershey Kisses. Just like old times. Kristy cringed, knowing those chocolates were probably years old... and doused with terpentine.

"So..." Kristy began as she settled into Claudia's director's chair – aka her old throne. "How are you doing?"

"I'm stressed out," Claudia replied. "Someone out there knows private things about us."

"Things?" Kristy's ears perked up. The Jessi thing was one thing, but Claudia had said thingS. Had she gotten another text, too? Just as Kristy was about to ask, Claudia's door swung open and Stacey marched in.

"Hey, Stace," Claudia greeted her, tossing her an apple. Because Stacey has diabetes and can't consume anything from Claudia's stash of hidden junk food or she'll die on the spot.

"Hey," Stacey replied, looking as if she'd rather be anywhere but there.

The three sat in silence until Dawn and Mary Anne arrived. Then Kristy called the meeting to order.

"I hereby call this meeting of the Babysitters Club to order!" Kristy announced, "Welcome back, babysitters!"

"Oh, please," Stacey rolled her eyes. "We're only here because some jerk is basically blackmailing us about the Jessi thing. This isn't some grand reunion."

"I'm just trying to make the best of it, Stacey," Kristy shot back.

"Whatever," Stacey berated Kristy, "You're loving this."

"Loving what, Stacey?" Kristy was on fire now. "Loving that someone knows about the Jessi thing? Loving that someone is threatening us? Loving that one of our own is dead?"

Silence fell over the room. No one moved. No one even made eye contact.

The tension was broken by the ringing phone.

"Our first call!" Kristy dove for the phone. "Babysitters Club! Kristy speaking!"

Stacey and Dawn exchanged eyerolls at Kristy's peppy tone.

"Okay," Kristy told the caller, "I'll see who's available and call you right back."

Kristy hung up the phone and went pale.

"Two sitters on Saturday night," she managed to say. "For the Pikes."


	3. Chapter 3

Part 3

The muffled giggles coming from Sam's room were driving Kristy crazy. He and Stacey had been in there all afternoon. Kristy was hoping they'd come up for air soon so that she could work on her BSC business plan in peace.

Kristy had been working hard to rebuild the Babysitters Club. Partly because she loved it...but mostly because it was a good distraction from the fact that someone was watching her – and seemed to know things no one else should know.

"Hi, Kristy." Stacey appeared in the doorway.

"Hey!" Kristy couldn't hide her suprise. Since the fall of the BSC, Stacey had been to Kristy's house at least a hundred times. Never had she voluntarily stopped by Kristy's room to say hello.

"What are you working on?" Stacey asked, clearly trying hard to initiate a conversation.

"Babysitters Club stuff," Kristy replied. "Nothing you'd be interested in."

"Yeah..." Stacey hung her head. "I guess I've been a brat about the BSC getting back together."

"Yeah," Kristy agreed.

"It's just..." Stacey took a deep breath, "Things got really overwhelming with the BSC before. You know what happened."

"You mean the Jessi thing?" Kristy whispered.

Stacey nodded. "Among other things."

Kristy crossed her arm defensively. "I don't think the BSC is to blame entirely..."

"Isn't it?" Stacey challenged. "Look, Kristy...the BSC was great when we were kids, but we outgrew it. And the only reason we're doing it again is because someone is making us."

"But who? Who could know about the Jessi thing?"

"It's not just the Jessi thing," Stacey admitted hesitantly.

Kristy's ears perked up. Had Stacey gotten another text, too?

"Hey, Stace!" Sam sauntered into the room, "Ready to go?"

"Oh...um...yeah," Stacey stammered, glancing at Kristy. "Can I meet you at your car in, like, five minutes, Sam?"

"Let's take your car, babe. It's much nicer." Sam suggested. "And our reservations are at 6, so we really should leave now."

"Okay," Stacey agreed, but a look of regret washed over her face. Sam slung his arm around her and lead her downstairs.

Kristy followed. She just knew Stacey was about to confide in her. Her mind raced wildly. Had Stacey gotten another anonymous text, too? Kristy already suspected Claudia had, so if Stacey had, too, this was major information.

"Um, Stace," Kristy called as they opened the front door. "You forgot your favorite lip gloss in my room."

"Lip gloss?" Stacey began to ask. Then she realized what Kristy was doing and corrected herself. "You're right. I did. Wait for me in the car, Sam. I'll be, like, ten seconds."

The girls rushed back upstairs to Kristy's room.

"Did you get another text from B?" Kristy hissed.

"Yes!" Stacey exclaimed. "Did you?"

Kristy nodded. "I think Claudia did, too."

"If the three of us did, Dawn and Mary Anne probably did, too." Stacey reasoned.

"What was your text about?" Kristy pried.

Stacey shook her head and looked away, clearly avoiding the question. "No time to talk about it now. Sam's waiting."

"I think this calls for an emergency meeting of the Babysitters Club!" Kristy declared stoicly.

"Okay. Bye." Claudia hung up her phone and sighed.

Kristy had just called to inform her that they were going to have an emergency BSC meeting the next afternoon.

There goes my Sunday of eating Mounds bars and reading Twilight, she thought bitterly. More like there goes my whole life.

The text she had gotten the day before had been haunting her. It kept her up all night. Was she really to blame for Mallory's suicide? That was crazy, right? Or was it? She remembered her last conversation with Mal. Who could possibly have known about it?

Claudia jumped up and hurried down the hall to Janine's room. Janine was a genius. She was 19 and had graduated from college already, but she still lived at home while working on her Master's Degree. And she was just the person Claudia needed at a time like this.

Knock knock knock

"Janine?" Claudia called through the closed door. "I need to ask you something."

Moments later, Janine opened the door. "I'm about to leave for a date with Charlie. Can it wait until tomorrow?"

"No," Claudia replied. "Just one quick question. Is it possible to trace a text message?"

"Why?" Janine looked at her suspiciously.

Claudia immediately regretted asking Janine. If Janine were to help her, she'd need to SEE the text. And if she saw the text, Claudia would have to explain things. Things she didn't want to explain.

"Is someone sending you inappropriate text messages?" Janine raised an eyebrow.

"Oh...no, not me. My friend." Claudia lied, playing it off with a laugh. "Harmless really. A secret admirer."

"Oh," Janine forced a tight-lipped smile. "Well, there are applications one can install on their device. Though it doesn't do much good if the sender is using a prepaid mobile phone."

"Okay," Claudia continued to act as nonchalant as possible. "Thanks, Janine!"

With that Claudia hurried back to her room and dug a bag of M&Ms out of an old roller skate. This was all too overwhelming. Maybe it was all a sick joke. Maybe Pete Black was harassing her again. Maybe she could ignore it all and it would just go away.

Ring Ring

As if on cue, her phone rang.

"Hello," Claudia answered.

"I can't believe what you did!" a voice shrieked.

"What?" Claudia choked on her M&Ms.

"You joined the Babysitters Club again?" It was Ashley Wyeth. "Seriously?"

"Oh...that..." Claudia let out a sigh of relief as she pulled a bottle of root beer out of an empty tampon box.

"The last thing you need is something to distract you from your art," Ashley lectured. "Priorities, Claudia."

"Well...that's why I did it," Claudia fibbed. "To save money for art camp." 

"Oh?" Ashley actually sounded vaguely impressed.

Claudia tried to relax into a conversation with Ashley, but her mind was six feet under. Whether the text was real or a bad joke, Claudia couldn't help but replay her last conversation with Mallory and wonder if it truly was her fault that the Pike family was in mourning.

"And the minions of darkness decend,

Bringing numbness without an end.

They steal your whole soul,

And leave an empty hole.

With scars that are too deep to mend."

Vanessa Pike finished reading aloud and walked out of the room.

"That was the darkest limerick I've ever heard," Dawn whispered to Mary Anne.

Mary Anne shrugged. She could relate to the poem, quite honestly.

Dawn wanted to say something – anything that might make Mary Anne come out of her shell. Anything that might melt the iciness between them.

The triplets and Nicky were playing video games in the basement. Vanessa was working on morose poetry. Margo and Claire were in bed watching a movie. For once all was quiet in the Pike house. It was the perfect time to talk.

"Mary Anne, someone is threatening me," Dawn blurted.

Mary Anne snapped to attention, her eyes wide.

"I haven't told anyone, but I know I can trust you..despite our, um, issues," Dawn stammered. "I got an anonymous text..."

"Blaming you for Mallory's death?" Mary Anne whispered.

"Yes!"

"Me, too!"

"What? Really? Why?" Dawn was shocked and confused.

"Because I -" Mary Anne began, but was interrupted by the thunderous sound of the triplets coming up the stairs.

"Hey, where's Nicky?" Jordan asked.

"Isn't he with you?" Dawn asked.

"Nope. Haven't seen him in hours." Adam replied.

"Oh no," Dawn gasped. It wasn't the first time Nicky has disappeared. But under the circumstances, it was very troubling. "Mary Anne, you check the house...I'll go outside."

Mary Anne nodded, trying to stay calm. And trying to keep her mind from running wild with "what ifs". She sent the triplets back to the basement and began looking around the house. No Nicky anywhere.

Pretty soon, Mary Anne found herself in Mallory's room. The same horse poster that had adorned the wall for five years still hung over Mal's bed. The same bookshelf that had held all of Mal's favorite books since she was six still stood in the corner of the room. The same bulletin board where Mal hung important papers and photos still hung over her desk. And on it was a collage of pictures of the Babysitters Club.

Mary Anne felt a pang of sadness stab her right in the heart. Or maybe it was guilt. But probably it was both. Mary Anne had dismantled her shrine to the BSC the day she left it. And she was certain the others had, too. But clearly it was still important to Mallory. Or, rather, had been important to her - up to the day she died.

With a heavy sigh, Mary Anne turned to leave the room. But something caught her eye. In a small waste basket by the closet door was a framed picture of Ben Hobart, Mallory's ex-boyfriend. The glass was smashed to pieces.

As she looked at the picture, Mary Anne felt lightheaded. The room began to spin. A fuzzy vision of Mallory flashed through her mind. Mallory was furious – shouting angrily. Her face was blood red. Her eyes filled with a frightening mixture of hatred and sadness. "How could you?" Mallory's voice schreeched.

Oh god, Mary Anne gasped, collapsing onto Mallory's bed. Was that a memory from the night Mallory died? The night Mary Anne couldn't remember?

Mary Anne took a few deep breaths to calm herself. She had to get it together and look for Nicky. As she started to stand up, her hand brushed against something under Mallory's pillow. Mary Anne lifted the pillow to find Mallory's diary...

Dawn jogged through the neighborhood yelling for Nicky. He was nowhere to be found, but she had an idea of where he might be. She darted across an empty lot toward the spot where her old farmhouse once stood.

The house had been destroyed in a fire, but the secret passageway that connected it to the still intact barn remained.

"Nicky!" she called as she entered the barn.

No answer. No sound at all. She tugged open the door leading to the passageway. It opened easily – as if it had been used recently.

"Nicky!" she shouted into the darkness.

Dawn pulled out her cellphone and clicked on the flashlight app. She held it out to illuminate the darkness as she headed inside.

"We're not mad at you, Nicky," Dawn's voice wavered a bit. "We just want to know that you're safe."

Still no answer. Dawn moved her phone around, looking around the narrow corridor. Suddenly something caught her eye.

"What the..." Dawn couldn't believe her eyes.

The walls of the passageway were lined with photos. Photos of the Babysitters Club.


	4. Chapter 4

"I hereby call this emergency meeting of the Babysitters Club to order!" Kristy bellowed.

Mary Anne stared at the floor. Dawn nervously twirled her hair. Stacey fiddled with the clasp on her bracelet. And Claudia anxiously chain chewed Double Bubble she'd stashed in a Wonder Woman pencil box.

"We have a serious situation," Kristy said, lowering her voice a few octaves to emphasize just how serious. "It seems we've all received anonymous, threatening text messages."

"It's just a dumb prank, right?" Stacey asked, not sounding very convinced or hopeful at all.

"Someone implicating each of us in a friend's suicide is a terrible prank," Kristy frowned. "But I'm afraid there's more...Dawn can explain."

"When I was sitting for the Pikes yesterday, Nicky disappeared. When I was searching for him, I checked the old secret passage – you know, at my old house. He wasn't there – he was at the park - but the walls of the passage were lined with pictures. Pictures of us."

"Pictures of us?" Stacey gasped.

"What kind of pictures?" Claudia shuddered.

"Mostly pictures from BSC functions. Picnics, summer camp," Dawn paused, "And from that carnival a couple years ago."

"The carnival?" Claudia went pale.

Dawn nodded and continued. "But there were also more recent pictures of each of us alone. Claudia at art class. Mary Anne at the library. Kristy at Krusher's practice. Stacey and Sam making out in Sam's car."

"I've never made out with Sam in his car!" Stacey scoffed in horror.

"Yeah, 'cause that's the real issue here," Kristy bristled.

"I want to see the pictures," Mary Anne spoke up.

"See the pictures?" Dawn asked.

"Yes," Mary Anne replied firmly. "I want to go to the secret passage."

"But, Mary Anne," Kristy argued, "We don't know who we're dealing with here. They could be dangerous."

"It could be Mallory's killer!" Mary Anne countered.

"Her killer?" Claudia interjected. "She was her own killer. She committed suicide."

"I don't think she did." Mary Anne reached into her purse and pulled out a book. "I took Mallory's diary."

"What?" Everyone gasped, eyes wide with shock and confusion.

"I read it...and I don't think she killed herself," Mary Anne explained. "Some of the things she wrote – up to the day she died – it just doesn't seem like the thoughts and feelings of a suicidal person."

"Well, that's subjective," Kristy crossed her arms and frowned skeptically.

"Maybe so," Mary Anne shrugged, "But she talks about a secret friend. A secret friend she calls B."

"B?! The B that texted us?" Stacey shrieked, "No freakin' way!"

"Yep," Mary Anne nodded. "She talks about B like a friend. A confidant."

Everyone looked puzzled, trying to make sense of the situation.

"I know we haven't talked about it...but...does anybody know the, um, details of how Mallory died?" Dawn inquired tentatively. "First we were told it was an accident. Then we heard it was a suicide. What exactly happened?"

Kristy took a deep breath. "Her body was at the bottom of the cliff that's at the end of that dirt road outside of town. You know...the one..."

"The one people park on to make out?" Stacey supplemented.

"Yeah. That one." Kristy blushed.

"That's not far from your house, Mary Anne," Claudia noticed.

"That's not far from Ben Hobart's new house." Dawn realized.

"There was a picture of Ben in Mal's trash!" Mary Anne gasped. She omitted the foggy flashback she'd had of angry Mallory. Her memories from that night were almost non-existent, and she was ashamed of that. Sweet, good, innocent Mary Anne had changed for reasons she couldn't discuss. Was the flashback even real? She couldn't be sure.

"Ben starts with B!" Claudia exclaimed.

Kristy frowned, flipping through Mallory's diary. "She uses Ben's full name when she writes about him. It seems like Ben and B are two different people."

"This is confusing," Claudia whined.

"So...Ben and Mal may have had a fight...and she was found dead near his house," Dawn summarized, "But she had a secret friend named B, who is now stalking the five of us and blaming us for Mal's death."

"This is bizarre," Stacey muttered.

"I have to go babysit the Newtons," Kristy said, checking her watch. "But let's make a pact to notify each other if anything – and I mean ANYTHING – happens."

Everyone solemnly agreed as they filed out of Claudia's room.

"Maybe it's all just a prank," Stacey said again. "Maybe it'll all just go away."

"Yeah," Dawn shrugged glumly as they stepped outside to Claudia's front porch, "But Mallory's still dead. And someone may have killed her."

"And we didn't do anything wrong," Kristy added.

Then, as if on cue, a familiar sound punctuated Kristy's words – the sound of Jessi's wheelchair, wheels squeakily rolling along the uneven sidewalk. She rolled by Claudia's house, looking straight ahead, not even seeming to notice the girls as they wordlessly watched her.

As soon as Jessi was out of site, one by one, cell phones beeped with text notifications.

" _Your fault_ ," Kristy read.

"B's watching us!" Claudia gasped.

Everyone whipped their heads around, frantically searching for someone lurking in the bushes or hiding behind a tree. All they saw was Jessi rolling off in the distance.

On the drive home, Mary Anne felt uneasy. She wondered if she held the key to the mystery of Mal's death. She wondered what other horrors her subconscious held. Dawn sat silently in the passenger seat, obviously reeling from the situation as well. For a moment, Mary Anne considered opening up to Dawn and telling her everything. She took a deep breath, preparing herself.

"Hey, is that Logan?" Dawn interrupted.

It was. Logan was at Mary Anne's house. In the driveway, leaning against his truck.

Mary Anne parked her car and sat frozen for a moment.

"I'm going to go for a walk and leave you two alone," Dawn announced. "Call if you need me."

Mary Anne nodded, her eyes staring straight ahead. She didn't want to do this. She didn't want to see Logan. It brought up too many bad feelings. She climbed out of the car slowly and took her time walking over to Logan.

"Hi," he smiled. "How are you doing?"

Mary Anne winced at the question. There was no good answer for it.

"I, uh...I'm here for my jacket," Logan explained. His Stoneybrook High letterman's jacket. All the athletes got one and, traditionally, let their girlfriends wear them.

"For Cokie," Mary Anne said.

"Yeah," Logan looked uncomfortable.

"Sure, I'll go get it."

Logan had moved on. Mary Anne was okay with it. She really was. She and Logan had tried and failed many times to make a relationship work. They weren't meant to be. And there were plenty of metaphorical scars left to prove it.

As Mary Anne made her way to the coat closet, she did her best to push aside the memories. She grabbed the coat and turned to go back outside when a piece of paper fell from the pocket. She picked it up and saw that it was an old note from Logan.

 _MA, I love you. We will get through this. It will be okay. - B_

Her heart stopped. She had completely forgotten about Logan referring to himself as B. The basketball team started calling him "Bruno" and the nickname caught on. He liked it.

"It can't be Logan," Mary Anne whispered to herself. "That's crazy."

She took the jacket out and handed it to Logan without a word, then turned in hurried back inside, locking the door behind her.

Meanwhile...

Dawn walked along the sidewalks of Stoneybrook, admiring the sunset. As much as she loved California, there were great things about Connecticut, too.

But she kept running back and forth.

Dawn walked on, her mind – and body – wandering toward her old barn. Toward B's lair.

"Hey, Dawn!" a voice startled her back to reality. It was Buddy Barrett.

"Hi, Buddy!" she greeted him, "What are you doing all the way over here? You're house is blocks away!"

"I'm just...exploring," Buddy replied tentatively.

"You should get home," Dawn lectured, "It'll be dark soon and your mom will be worried."

"Mom's not home. I have a babysitter."

"A babysitter?" Dawn knew Mrs. Barrett hadn't called the BSC.

"Yeah. She's from the Babysitter's Agency," Buddy told her.

The Babysitter's Agency? Dawn had heard Kristy's stories about them. They had almost put the BSC out of business years ago – and they were terrible sitters. And now, it seemed, they were back. And letting their charges wander all over the city.

"I'd better go," Buddy decided, looking at the darkening sky. "See ya, Dawn!"

"Bye," Dawn waved.

When Buddy turned to go, Dawn noticed that his backside was covered in dirt.

Had he been in B's lair?

Meanwhile...

Claudia pulled a sheet cake from under her bed and settled in for an evening snack.

 _Knock knock knock_

"Uh – come in!" Claud called, shoving the cake back under the bed.

Janine peaked her head in. "Are your friends gone?"

"Yes."

Janine wandered in and sat on the edge of the bed. Claudia raised an eyebrow. This was weird.

"Congratulations on the Babysitter's Club getting back together. It's nice that the five of you are friends again."

"Yeah..." Claudia shifted uncomfortably.

"Such a shame about Mallory. What a terrible accident." Janine paused for several moments. "Do they know what happened?"

"Um...well..." Claudia stammered, unsure of how to respond. "I think the police are saying it's a suicide now."

"Oh? How very tragic." Janine stood abruptly and walked toward the door. "Well...I'm meeting Charlie at the movies. See you later!"

Claudia stared after her, puzzled. What a strange interaction.

Why was Janine coming into her room, congratulating her on the the BSC reuniting and discussing Mal's suicide? Why did Janine care about any of that?

"So weird," Claud muttered. She walked over to the window and watched Janine hop into her car. Instead of driving away, she pulled out her phone and called someone.

She might have been calling Charlie to tell him she was on her way...but something about the way she was talking made it seem otherwise.

Meanwhile...

"Surprise!" Stacey beamed as Sam opened the door.

"Hey!" Sam smiled, "What are you doing here?"

"I wanted to see you, of course!" Stacey threw her arms around Sam's neck and gave him a quick kiss.

"You should've called first," Sam frowned, "Charlie and I are about to go play basketball with the guys."

"Aw," Stacey pouted.

"Sorry!"

"It's okay," Stacey sighed.

"I'll call you tomorrow," Sam promised, kissing her on the nose.

Stacey nodded dejectedly and turned to walk back to her car. To her surprise, there was a yellow post-it note on her door.

 _Be careful who you trust. - B_

Stacey looked around. She saw no one. No one except for Morbidda Destiny peering out the window of her house next door.

Meanwhile...

Kristy ushered Jamie and Lucy Newton into the ice cream shop. It was crowded. So crowded that Kristy almost didn't notice four eyes glaring at her from across the room.

Her ex-boyfriend, Bart, and his new girlfriend...former BSC alternate member and former friend, Shannon Kilbourne.

To say there was bad blood between the three of them was an understatement. For the past year and a half, it had been a torrid love triangle with a script fit for a soap opera...or a seedy reality show. Bart liked Kristy. Bart liked Shannon. Bart broke up with Kristy for Shannon. Bart broke up with Shannon for Kristy. Bart cheated on Kristy with Shannon. Bart cheated on Shannon with Kristy. Kristy finally busted him on his shady ways and dumped him for good. Shannon, on the other hand, chose to blame Kristy for everything and stayed with Bart. Bart had tried to talk to Kristy since, but she wouldn't give him the time of day. Anytime the Krushers played baseball against the Bashers, it was particularly uncomfortable.

Kristy tried to ignore them and focus on Jamie and Lucy. But she could feel their eyes on them. Luckily, Bart and Shannon soon finished their ice cream and left.

"Okay, kids," Kristy smiled, "We have a little time before dark. Shall we stop at the park on the way home?"

"Yeah!" the kids cheered.

When Kristy and the Newtons arrived at the park, the sun was beginning to set. Still, the park was pretty crowded. Kristy watched as Jamie ran for the slide and she took Lucy to the swings. After a few minutes, Jamie darted across the park, toward the sand box. As Kristy watched him go, she noticed something startling on the other side of the park. Bart and Shannon. Looking right at her.

 _Omg, are they following me?_ Kristy wondered.

Suddenly, an image popped into Kristy's head. Bart standing on the baseball field, wearing his team jersey...featuring a big, bold letter B.

And then her SmartWatch buzzed with a notification.

1 new text.

 _The past seems to be following you. - B_

Kristy groaned with frustration and texted back: _Who is this?_

 _You'll find out when you're either behind bars or buried in the ground for what you've done. Whichever comes first. - B_


	5. Chapter 5

_Ding dong_

"This is crazy," Stacey whispered, clutching her Louis Vuitton overnight bag. "We're too old for sleepovers."

Claudia shrugged in semi-agreement. "It's special circumstances, though." She adjusted the strap on her neon green overalls, which she had over a black faux fur short sleeved turtleneck with a giant peacock broach pinned to the neck. Her pant legs were rolled up over her Converse high tops – one pink and one yellow – and rainbow striped knee socks. Her hair was in pig tails with silver pom poms on each side and a Cookie Monster headband. Her nails were painted, alternating orange and black. And her earrings were homemade – large silver hoops with about a dozen paper clips on them. She carried a Muppets duffle bag.

Kristy swung open the door, looking very serious. "Come in."

"Are Mary Anne and Dawn already here?" Claudia asked.

"Nope," Kristy replied.

"And I thought _we_ were late," Stacey mumbled.

After a few minutes of awkward chit-chat, Mary Anne and Dawn finally arrived.

"Sorry we're late," Mary Anne explained, "My dad almost didn't let me come."

"Why?" Kristy balked.

"I don't know," Mary Anne rolled her eyes, "He's always been that way about me coming here. You know how overprotective he is."

"Let's go to my room and get started," Kristy commanded, leading them up the stairs. "Everyone's out for the evening, so we'll have plenty of privacy."

As everyone assembled in Kristy's room, she went into her closet and emerged with a giant board.

"May I present," she began ceremoniously, "The Board of Suspects!" With that, she flipped the board around to reveal a series of photographs.

"What the hell?" Stacey furrowed her brow. "Seriously?"

"Oh, I'm quite serious, Anastasia," Kristy snapped. "Someone is targeting us. They're taunting us with the Jessi thing and they're trying to implicate us in Mallory's death. We have to find out who it is."

"I agree," Claudia chimed in, chugging a YooHoo from her bag, "We're being stalked. It's dangerous."

"Exactly," Kristy continued, pulling out a long pointer stick and slapping it against the first picture. "First off, we have the Babysitters Agency. We know they don't like us because we put them out of business years ago. But now they're back. The timing is suspicious."

"But why would the Babysitters Agency make us get back together? What would be the point?" Dawn pointed out, "And why would they care what happened to Mallory? They didn't know her."

"Moving on," Kristy went on, tapping her pointer on the next photograph. "Bart. His name starts with B. He's been bitter since our breakup. He followed me all around town the other night while I was sitting for the Pikes."

"Well, I suspect Logan," Mary Anne stated. "I even found a note he wrote me while we were dating. He signed it 'B'."

Everyone gasped.

"Ben starts with B, too," Stacey reminded them. "And there's plenty of reasons to suspect him. He was Mallory's boyfriend. Mary Anne found that picture of him in Mal's trash. His name starts with B..."

"I agree," Dawn said, "But Buddy Barrett starts with B, too. And I saw him near B's lair. He had dirt all over him as if he'd been in the passage. Totally suspect."

"I hate to say this," Claudia spoke up, "But I've started to wonder about Janine. She's been acting shady lately...Then again, what if it's Byron Pike? That starts with B...Or maybe it's all just another sick prank from Pete Black!"

"No way it's just a prank," Kristy frowned. "This person knows things no one else knows."

"Actually..." Stacey interjected, "Mallory's best friend might know everything."

"Jessi!?" Everyone exclaimed at once.

"It does make sense," Dawn agreed. "Mallory could've shared everything with her. And now she wants revenge."

"For that matter, it could be any of you," Stacey added.

"We've all been targeted, Stacey," Kristy reminded her. "Besides, if we start turning on each other, it makes us weaker. We have to stay strong. BSC strong."

"Okay," Stacey replied, not completely convinced. "Well then, for the record, I suspect Ben...or Jessi...or Mrs. Porter."

"Mrs. Porter?" Kristy blanched. "Next door?"

"Yep," Stacey explained, "When I was visiting Sam, someone left a note on my car. Then I saw her peering out the window. Maybe she left the note."

"That's far-fetched," Kristy shook her head.

"But maybe she did see who left it," Mary Anne pointed out.

"Yeah," Kristy agreed. "Bart left it. He lives in the neighborhood. It makes sense."

"No way," Dawn argued, "Buddy or Ben or Jessi."

"Why on earth would Buddy – a child – do that to us?" Kristy countered, fraught with exasperation.

"I don't know...but he was there...he was at B's lair!" Dawn insisted.

"I think it's Logan or Ben," Mary Anne decided.

"Janine or Byron," Claudia voted.

"Okay," Kristy wrote the names on the board and frowned. "That's even more suspects than I initially thought..."

Everyone looked at the names, quietly considering each suspect.

"Screw it, I'm ordering pizza," Kristy groaned after several minutes.

"Make mine a veggie pizza!" Dawn reminded her.

"This is bizarre," Claudia muttered. "One of these people is after us."

"And for what?" Mary Anne questioned. "To what end?"

"You don't think they want us dead, do you?" Claudia worried.

No one replied. No one knew for sure.

"Okay, pizza's will be here in thirty minutes or less," Kristy announced.

"You know," Claudia started tentatively, "We've never really discussed what B has on each of us. I mean, we all know our part in the Jessi thing...but the individual texts...we haven't discussed..."

Everyone shifted uncomfortably and averted their eyes. It was clear no one wanted to share.

"I'll start," Claudia cleared her throat. "Mal and I had kind of stayed in touch after the BSC broke up. Not, like, regularly, but now and then we'd talk. She was working on a novel. A mystery. She knew I liked that kind of thing, so she let me read some chapters. It was really good. Anyway, I started taking an art class at the community center a few months ago and I was kind of struggling with it. Some of the other students in the class were so, like, beyond talented. And I felt kinda like maybe I wasn't meant to be an artist. I really started to doubt myself."

Claudia stopped and took a deep breath. The others leaned in, waiting for her to continue.

"Then one day, Mallory called me. She said she'd finished her book and asked if I would do the artwork for the cover. I was in such a bad mood. I said no. She kept trying to convince me. The more she tried to tell me I was a great artist, the madder I got. Finally I snapped and told her that her dumb book would probably never get published anyway. And then I hung up."

Claudia paused, holding back tears.

"That was the morning before she died."

With that Claudia began to cry.

"I kept wondering if the things I said pushed her to kill herself. I was so mean and so selfish..."

"It wasn't your fault, Claudia." Stacey assured her.

"Maybe not," Claudia sniffled, "But someone is blaming me. Someone knows about it. It hurt her enough to tell someone about it. She died thinking I felt that way about her."

"My story's similar," Dawn bit her lip. "Mal and I were pen pals while I was in California. We emailed back and forth. She was a really good friend. A really good listener. She was a way better pen pal to me than I was to her. I would get busy and forget to write – but she'd still send me emails or texts just wishing me a good day."

Everyone smiled sad smiles, remembering that side of Mallory.

Dawn went on, "At the end of the school year, I got a job at a surf shop. I started seeing someone...I was even busier than usual. So when Mallory started emailing, alluding to something she needed to talk to someone about, I just didn't have time for her. But she kept texting. Finally, I replied. I texted back that I was really busy and didn't have time for her anymore. That was the night she died."

"Oh, Dawn..." everyone chorused sympathetically.

"I kept thinking that I was to blame. If I would've just taken a few minutes to email her and hear her out, maybe I could've talked her out of killing herself. I could've prevented her suicide."

"Alleged suicide," Kristy reminded them. "We all know it was probably a homicide."

"Yeah," Dawn wiped away a tear, "But at the time, I didn't know that. And...still, I wonder if what I did lead her to where she was that night. You know? Maybe she felt hopeless and went out alone and some psycho killed her. If I had just been there for her, she might not have gone out alone. She might still be alive."

"Well if that's true, then I'm as much to blame as Claudia and Dawn," Stacey announced.

"What do you mean?" Claudia inquired. "You were in touch with Mal, too?"

"No," Stacey sighed, mentally pained by the memory. "But I did see her that night. At a party. She came in wearing an old sweatshirt and jeans, looking...looking like typical Mallory. My friends laughed at her and made fun of her. I joined in. I mean, she looked so homely and out of place. She was looking for someone and she seemed kind of frantic. I really didn't pay attention at the time. She walked over to ask us if we'd seen Ben...and we acted like mean girls. Made fun of her clothes. Her hair. She was clearly upset, but we kept on. Finally, she ran out of the party crying. The next morning I found out she was dead, not far from where the party was. I think I was in denial at first. It didn't seem possible that our words would have the power to make her want to die. But then I remembered all the other times. All the times in the hall that my friends would make comments about her. What if we had pushed her to it? How could we have been so mean?"

"That's awful," Mary Anne replied.

"We were awful. I was awful." Stacey corrected her. "I haven't talked to those girls since. I just can't be a part of that. Even if it turns out Mallory didn't kill herself, I still can't associate with bullies like that anymore. This was a major wake up call."

"It's good that you realize that," Claudia told her, "Because you guys really were terrible. Everyone thinks so."

"I'm truly embarrassed about my actions," Stacey said softly. "And so sorry."

"Well, I guess I win," Kristy commented sarcastically. "My story is much worse."

Kristy stood up and walked over to the window. She seemed to be gathering herself to tell her story.

"After the BSC broke up, I stayed in touch with the Pikes. I mean, I've known them forever. I kind of felt like a big sister to Mallory. Sometimes I would drive her places. The library. The mall. Whatever. When she called that night, I answered. She asked me to pick her up from the party and take her home. It was late and I was...busy. I told her if she couldn't find anyone else, to call me back. Fifteen minutes later, she called back. I didn't answer. She left a voicemail – she was crying, begging me to come pick her up. I didn't hear the voicemail until the next morning. Because I was with Bart."

A collective gasp echoed through the room.

"Yep," Kristy clarified. "Mallory needed a ride home from a party. But I was too busy hooking up with someone elses boyfriend. And so I left her out there to die."

No one knew what to say. There was no good way to respond.

"I was so stupid," Kristy chastised herself. "So unbelievably stupid."

"None of us wanted anything to happen to Mallory," Dawn consoled. "It was just a series of awful events...I don't think any of us need to carry that guilt."

"Maybe not, but B does," Kristy reminded her.

"B knows everything that happened that night. It has to be someone close to Mallory. Someone she'd tell all of her secrets to." Stacey said.

"Jessi or Ben," Dawn nodded in agreement.

"They're definitely highest on the list of suspects right now," Kristy concurred.

"Wait...what about you, Mary Anne?" Claudia asked. "What's your Mallory story?"

Mary Anne swallowed nervously and looked down at her hands.

"Come on. It can't be worse than mine," Kristy prodded.

"It might be," Mary Anne replied softly.

"Well...tell us," Stacey urged. "We spilled our secrets. You have to spill yours."

"Right. This is a safe space here," Dawn assured her. "What happened?"

"I...I don't know." Mary Anne responded, raising her gaze to meet theirs. Her eyes clouded with helplessness and confusion. "I honestly don't know."

"What do you mean you don't know?" Kristy crossed her arms and stood over Mary Anne like an aggressive cop.

"I can't remember much from that night," Mary Anne explained nervously. "It was a bad night. I had a lot to drink."

"So...you blacked out?" Stacey asked.

"Yeah," Mary Anne nodded.

"You probably just passed out somewhere," Stacey shrugged. "I've done that a few times."

Mary Anne shook her head. "B's note said 'I know what you did to Mallory. Too bad you don't remember. Mary Anne the murderer.' B knows something. I did something. What if I killed Mallory?"

"That's ridiculous," Dawn refused, "You wouldn't kill anybody."

"But a few days ago, I had a flashback," Mary Anne revealed numbly. "Mallory was mad. So mad. She was yelling. Something happened that night. Something bad."

Everyone was quiet for several minutes, all trying to absorb the various stories and the severity of each.

Finally, Kristy shook her head. "No way you killed her, Mary Anne. If you definitively killed her, B wouldn't be text-threatening all five of us. B would just be coming after you."

"I guess," Mary Anne said, hope in her voice.

Kristy clapped her hands together. "I think we've accomplished enough for one night. Let's go downstairs. The pizza will be here any minute."

In the kitchen, the girls busied themselves pouring drinks and setting the table with plates and napkins. They worked in silence, each undoubtedly revisiting the stories they'd just shared, until a voice startled them back to reality.

"What's for dinner?"

"Charlie!?" Kristy gasped. "When did you come in?"

"I've been home all night," Charlie answered, grabbing a bottle of water from the fridge.

"Weird," Claudia whispered to Stacey, "Janine said she was going out with Charlie tonight. She left, like, twenty minutes before I did."

"It's been awhile since all of you have had a slumber party," Charlie smiled.

"It's not a slumber party," Kristy mocked offense.

"Sad about Mallory," Charlie turned somber. "I remember when the Pikes moved to Stoneybrook. They had just gotten married. Mom was pregnant with Kristy and all the women in town were on edge because Mrs. Porter had gone missing. Everyone thought there was a kidnapper on the loose."

"Mrs. Porter was kidnapped?" Kristy's jaw dropped, "Why haven't I heard about this before?"

"I don't think she really was," Charlie shrugged, "I think she just left town for awhile and didn't tell anybody. She ended up coming back a few months later."

 _Ding dong_

"Pizza's here!" Kristy announced, charging toward the front door with the rest of the BSC behind her.

Kristy flung open the door. Instead of seeing the pizza guy, there was a man and a woman. The man was dressed in a white button up shirt and gray slacks. The woman was wearing a navy blue pantsuit.

"Hello, I'm Detective Jenkins," the woman introduced herself, "And this is Detective Gossard. We'd like to ask you girls a few questions about the death of Mallory Pike.


	6. Chapter 6

Dawn twirled her long, sun bleached, California blonde hair around her fingers.

Claudia chain-chewed grape Bubble Yum.

Stacey scrolled absentmindedly through Instagram.

Kristy paced around the room.

They had all been asked the same set of questions.

"What was the status of your relationship with Mallory on the day she died?"

"Tell us about the last time you saw Mallory."

"Did you and Mallory ever have an argument?"

"Did you ever witness Mallory having an argument with someone else?"

All questions indicating that the investigators knew something.

"They know something," Kristy worried aloud. "That's why they're here, right?"

Everyone shrugged, not knowing what to think.

"We all answered their questions truthfully," Kristy went on. She paused and looked at her friends. "Right?"

"I mean..." Stacey put down her phone and grimaced. "I didn't tell them every single detail. Like the mean girl stuff. I just told them I saw Mallory looking for Ben. And that she seemed upset."

"I guess I kind of left out the part about me telling Mallory her book would never get published," Claudia admitted.

"Well, I told them everything," Dawn announced proudly.

"You had to," Stacey rolled her eyes at Dawn's alleged superiority. "They have access to your text messages anyway."

"Yeah," Claudia added, "Plus you were in California. Pretty good alibi."

"I told them everything, too," Kristy sighed, collapsing onto the couch by Dawn.

"Everything?" Claudia squeaked.

"Well..." Kristy squirmed, "I didn't tell them I was having an illicit tryst with my former friend's boyfriend...but I did tell them I missed Mallory's call when she needed a ride that night. I just said I was taking a shower after baseball practice."

"So...what's Mary Anne telling them?" Dawn wondered nervously, looking at the door to the study where the detectives were questioning her step-sister.

"Yeah," Stacey agreed. "Mary Anne doesn't remember anything from that night. That can't bode well for her."

"Do you think they'd consider her a suspect?" Kristy asked. "I mean, it's Mary Anne. She's harmless."

"Is she?" Stacey countered. "Mary Anne has changed, you guys. Big time. What do we really know about her anymore?"

All of them wanted to defend Mary Anne. But none of them could. Stacey was right. Mary Anne had changed dramatically over the past couple of years. Their sweet, shy friend had transformed into someone dark and cold.

"But she wouldn't-" Claudia began, but was interrupted by the study door opening.

Mary Anne walked out, face emotionless and pale. Detectives Jenkins and Gossard followed, both looking pensive.

Detective Jenkins stood before them, eyes moving over each of them with an intentional slowness. It was meant to be intimidating – and it very much was.

"Thanks for your time, girls," she finally said. "We'll be in touch again. Soon."

After the detectives left, everyone turned to Mary Anne expectantly. But Mary Anne said nothing, staring at the coffee table as if in a trance.

"How did it go, Mary Anne?" Dawn finally asked gently.

"Great," Mary Anne replied sarcastically. "The fact that I blacked out the night our friend died went over really well with the people investigating her possible murder."

"So you told them?" Stacey seemed surprised.

"Yeah," Mary Anne shot her a scalding glance. "The truth might be incriminating, but being caught in a lie would be a whole lot worse."

"That's true..." Kristy agreed, anxiously biting her nails. No doubt thinking about the little lie she had told the detectives. But that was different, she assured herself. She knew she didn't physically do anything to Mallory. Mary Anne, on the other hand, couldn't be so sure.

"We shouldn't have talked to them without our parents...or a lawyer or something," Stacey realized.

"Yeah, right," Mary Anne scoffed. "As if I want my father – or anybody else - knowing anything about that night."

"Maybe this will all blow over," Claudia hoped. "Maybe we'll never see those detectives again."

As if on cue, their cell phones chimed. One by one.

 _Looks like our detective friends are hot on your trail. - B_

Attached was a photo of the detectives standing on Jessi's front porch.

The girls looked at each other, eyes wide and full of fear.

"They're just questioning Jessi like they questioned us," Kristy said with little conviction. "Right?"

"Right," Claudia agreed, sounding equally unsure.

"Jessi doesn't even know the whole truth about the Jessi thing," Kristy added. "So what would she possibly tell them?"

"What if she knows more than we think she knows?" Stacey worried. "What if Mallory – or B – told her everything?"

"If Jessi knows and tells the cops, we're in trouble," Kristy said. "Big trouble."

"Guys, I really don't think Mallory told her." Claudia pointed out, "We've all read Mal's diary. She never mentioned it at all. She was really loyal to us and keeping the secret."

"But B knows," Stacey reminded her. "So she wasn't too damn loyal."

"Who the hell is B?" Kristy growled, "And why would Mallory confide in them?"

They all sat in silence, immersed in thoughts and theories. Mentally combing the list of suspects for something that made sense. Suddenly, Mary Anne jumped up.

"I-I don't feel well," she stammered. "I'm going home."

"Mary Anne, wait!" Dawn called after her. "I'll go with you."

"No. Stay." Mary Anne hurried toward the door, not even looking back. "I'll be fine."

The remaining girls said nothing, but their worried glances said it all. Something was definitely going on with Mary Anne.

But not just Mary Anne. Claudia couldn't shake the feeling that something was going on with Janine, too. Just that night she had claimed to be leaving for a date with Charlie. But Charlie was home.

"Excuse me for a sec," Claudia announced, walking toward the kitchen. "I have to make a phone call."

Claudia dialed Janine's cell phone number and waited. One ring. Two rings. Three rings. Four -

"Hello," Janine answered, sounding out of breath.

"Janine? Hey, where are you?"

"I'm still out..." Janine answered vaguely.

"With Charlie?"

"Yes."

"Oh...okay," Claudia's mind was spinning. Janine flat out lied. Why?

"Do you need something, Claudia?" Janine sounded annoyed.

"Um...yeah...but no...never mind..." Claudia tried to sound casual as she stammered out a fib, "I was out with Stacey and, uh, I needed a phone number I had written on my desk at home...but since you're not there, um...I'll just...um, google it or something."

"Okay," Janine seemed unfazed by Claudia's awkward explanation. "Goodbye, Claudia."

Claudia stared at the phone, thoroughly perplexed. Why was Janine lying? Where was she really?

In the next room, Kristy's phone chimed with a text alert. Stacey and Dawn held their breath as they stared at each other, waiting for their phones to chime as well with another menacing text from B. When they didn't, both girls breathed a sigh of relief.

Kristy picked up her phone and read the text.

 _Did you call me this afternoon?_

It was Bart.

Kristy typed back. _Yes. I did. I wanted to know why you've been stalking me._

Bart responded. _What?_

Kristy typed furiously. _Don't play dumb._ _The other night when I was babysitting, you showed up everywhere I went._

Bart quickly replied. _You mean at the ice cream place and the park? Shannon and I were babysitting her cousin._

Kristy furrowed her brow and forged on. _And you just happened to go everywhere I went? BS Bart!_

There was a long pause. Finally Bart answered. _It was a coincidence...but I liked seeing you._

Kristy could feel her cheeks flush. There it was. Typical Bart. When he was dating Shannon, he was interested in Kristy. And when he was dating Kristy, he was interested in Shannon. The whole love triangle had been playing on repeat for far too long.

Bart sent another text. _What are you doing tomorrow night?_

Kristy balked. Yes, she had fallen into the trap before. And, yes, deep down she still had feelings for Bart. But it was wrong. Very wrong. Besides, even though Bart claimed it was a coincidence, he could still be B. His attempts to woo her could've just been an attempt to manipulate her. To get closer to her so he could execute some sick master plan.

Kristy started to text back _Go to hell._ But she stopped herself.

Did it _really_ make sense that Bart was B? From what she could tell from Mallory's diary, B was Mallory's confidante. Why would Bart be hanging out with Mallory? As far as she knew, the two of them had rarely ever spoken to each other. They didn't live near each other. They didn't frequent the same places. How would they have connected? It didn't add up.

 _I'm free tomorrow night_. Kristy replied.

 _My house. 7?_ Bart quickly shot back.

 _I'll be there._ Kristy sat down here phone. Here I go again, she thought.

And a few streets away, Bart sat down his phone.

"Is it done?" Shannon asked him.

"Yep," he told her. "She'll be here tomorrow night."

Meanwhile, Mary Anne rushed through the streets of Stoneybrook. Away from Kristy's house. But not toward her own. She zigzagged through traffic, zoomed through yellow lights, and sped her way to her destination.

Finally she got out of her car and made her way through the darkness and into a familiar setting.

"Enough is enough," she muttered to herself. "I'm going to find out who you are and why you're doing this."

With that, she reached down and yanked the handle to open the secret passage – now known as B's lair.

She quickly utilized the flashlight on her cell phone to illuminate the way.

The space was silent and still. No one seemed to be down there. Her hopes of cornering B were dashed, but still...she wanted to see the lair for herself. She wanted to see what pictures were there on walls in hopes that somehow she could deduce why.

It was just as creepy as Dawn had described. Pictures of each BSC member. Some from BSC events, some not. Mary Anne's eyes stopped on one picture in particular. Her unkempt hair swept over her shoulder. Her skin pale. Her eyes tired. And sad. She looked...lifeless and sick. Logan was beside her, his arm around her waist, helping her to the car.

"The worst day of my life." Mary Anne mumbled, confused, "B was there? How? Why?"

Her thoughts were cut short by the sound of footsteps in the barn overhead. Someone was coming!

Mary Anne tried to ready herself, both mentally and physically. She turned off the flashlight on her phone. Was she really about to come face to face with B? What should she do? Hide? Find something to knock B out so she could tie them up and ask questions?

"Mary Anne?" a voice called through the darkness.

Whoever it was was there, in the passage, less than twenty feet away. She could hear them rummaging around for a moment. And then, bam, a yellow light illuminated the area, shining directly in Mary Anne's eyes.

She screamed.

The person screamed back.

Mary Anne blinked manically, her eyes adjusting to the light. And then she saw him. She couldn't believe it. She was standing in B's secret lair, face to face with Logan Bruno.


	7. Chapter 7

"L-Logan?" Mary Anne struggled to find her voice.

Logan inched forward, staring intently.

Her mind raced. Her heart pounded. Logan was B. He had her trapped. She couldn't get away.

"What is all this?" Logan scanned the area by the light of his phone, looking completely baffled. He examined the photos on the wall and then Mary Anne's terrified face. "What's going on?"

"These aren't your pictures?" Mary Anne managed to ask, through fear and confusion.

" _My_ pictures?" Logan grew even more perplexed. "No, of course not."

"Why are you here, Logan?" Mary Anne demanded, not sure she was buying his clueless act.

"I followed you, Mary Anne," he replied, an edge to his voice. "You flew by me at the red light in front of the school. You were driving real reckless. So I followed you."

"Oh..."

"Why are _you_ here?" he countered.

"Dawn found this a few days ago," Mary Anne explained, relaxing a bit. "She told us about it, but I wanted to see it for myself. I wanted to figure out who put these pictures here."

"You mean, like, a stalker?" Logan demanded, clenching his jaw. He had that look in his eyes. The look Mary Anne knew too well. The look of an over-protective, jealous boyfriend.

"I guess...something like that," Mary Anne replied. She felt like she'd already said too much.

Logan stomped around, shining light on each and every photo.

"So...I've seen it...Now I'm gonna go home," Mary Anne said, moving toward the exit.

"Mary Anne. Wait." Logan stopped her.

Mary Anne turned around to face him.

"How are you doing?" He sounded and looked genuinely concerned.

As Mary Anne looked into his eyes, her shell cracked just a little. "I'm okay..."

"Just okay?"

She didn't know how to respond. Maybe she'd be a little better than just okay if she and her friends weren't being threatened by an anonymous stalker. But, then again, maybe not. She had grown so numb to her feelings. This whole B thing had actually become a distraction.

"It's been nearly a year, Mary Anne. You can't keep blaming yourself."

"Myself?" Mary Anne snapped. "You think I'm blaming myself?"

Mary Anne felt like her insides were being overtaken by hot lava. And she was about to erupt.

"Every single day, I'm wrecked by the guilt," Mary Anne continued, through clenched teeth. "I do blame myself, Logan. But more than anything, I blame _you_."

Logan didn't know what to say. He didn't know how to react. He hung his head.

"And maybe we were young and dumb and in a really bad place," Mary Anne scolded, "But we took a life. And I'll never get over it."

"Mary Anne, I -" Logan began.

"Goodbye, Logan." Mary Anne cut him off and walked away, crying all the way home.

Once she got home, she let herself quietly in the front door. It was late and she expected her father and Sharon to already be in bed. But as she tiptoed past her dad's study, she heard him talking on the phone.

"I transferred the money this morning," he was saying in a hushed tone. "It should be in your account by now, just like every month... We have a deal. If you want to keep getting the money, you must maintain complete discretion...Mary Anne can never know. That has always been our agreement. Goodbye."

Mary Anne hurried to her room as quietly as possible. What an odd conversation her father was having. Had she heard everything right? Was he really transferring money to someone on a monthly basis so that they'd keep a secret? _Mary Anne can never know_ , he had said. Know what? Why? She couldn't make sense of it – and she was too tired to try.

Despite the excitement of the night and all the thoughts running through her head, Mary Anne took her nightly Ambien and collapsed onto her bed, without even changing clothes, and fell fast asleep.

The next morning, Claudia headed home from Kristy's house wearing a vintage Madonna tee topped with a red Hawaiian shirt over black pleather leggings tucked into brown cowgirl boots. She wore a whistle on a string around her neck, earrings she had made using the monkeys from a Barrel of Monkeys game on her ears, and a silver tiara with purple jewels on her head. She and her friends had spent the night restlessly worrying about the B situation, the Jessi thing and the two detectives who had visited them. As much as Claudia wanted to go to her room, chow down on the bag of powdered donuts in her pillow case, and then sleep the day away, she had something more important to do.

Going upstairs, Claudia could hear water running in the bathroom. Janine was in the shower. The timing could not have been more perfect. Claudia tossed her overnight bag onto her bed and hurried to Janine's room. On the desk, right where it always sat, was Janine's phone.

Claudia grabbed the phone and began clicking around. No suspicious text messages. No suspicious emails. No suspicious phone calls. Just call after call to Charlie at the Thomas's house.

Claudia heard the shower turn off, so she put the phone back in its place and scurried back to her room.

Whatever Janine was hiding, she was hiding well.

But Claudia had read enough Nancy Drew mysteries to know that if she looked hard enough, she would find a clue. And that's just what she was determined to do.

That afternoon, Stacey and Dawn were sitting for the Pikes.

The boys were playing video games in the basement and the girls were putting on a tiresome puppet show. Stacey and Dawn could barely keep their eyes open. Eventually, Stacey excused herself to use the restroom just to get away. As she walked across the hall, she passed Mallory's room. She couldn't resist going inside.

It was so strange to see the room with everything still intact, as if it belonged to someone. But it didn't. Not anymore. Mallory was never coming back to that room. She'd never sit at that desk or sleep in that bed or look at that ridiculously childish horse poster again.

"Oh, Mallory, you nerd," Stacey said fondly as she looked over Mal's book collection.

Then something caught her eye. A book called _The Runaway Princess_.

"I have this book," Stacey gasped, grabbing Mallory's copy. It wasn't a real book at all. It was a box meant to look like a book. Stacey used hers to hide keepsakes from boyfriends. She wondered what Mallory's was used for.

Inside was a sealed envelope.

Stacey couldn't get downstairs fast enough to show Dawn what she'd found.

"We have to open it!" Stacey insisted.

"Shouldn't we wait until the next BSC meeting?" Dawn wondered.

"Um...NO!" Stacey rolled her eyes and tore open the envelope. Inside was a letter. A letter addressed to B.

"What's that?" Claire bounced into the room and jumped in between Stacey and Dawn on the sofa.

"Homework," Stacey lied, folding the letter up and stuffing it back in the envelope before Claire recognized her sister's handwriting.

"Let's play Go Fish!" Claire demanded.

"I wanna play!" Margo and Vanessa hurried in from the kitchen.

Dawn and Stacey glanced at each other with despair. The letter would have to wait after all.

At seven o'clock sharp, Kristy pulled into Bart's driveway. She checked her reflection in the mirror.

She couldn't believe she was doing this. Again. She just couldn't help it. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't shake her feelings for Bart. He could be a jerk. He could be a liar. He could be a cheater. But above all of that, he was one sensational lover.

With mild trepidation, she stepped onto the porch and rang the doorbell.

"Hey," Bart opened the door and let Kristy in, barely looking her in the eye. He seemed subdued.

"Hey," Kristy replied. She could feel her cheeks blushing.

Bart led her to his room like he had dozens of times. He stopped in front of the door and turned to her. "I'm gonna get us something to drink. Go on in."

Kristy nodded and grinned like a lovesick puppy as she let herself into Bart's room.

"Hello, Kristy." A voice greeted her. Sitting in the chair by the window was Shannon Kilbourne. Kristy's ex-friend. Bart's girlfriend. "Have a seat."

Kristy was stunned speechless. She complied, taking a seat on the edge of Bart's bed.

"You look so comfortable there," Shannon snarked, glaring at Kristy with contempt.

"Okay, Shannon," Kristy finally spoke. "What's this about?"

"What's this about?" Shannon mimicked with a scowl. "This is about you repeatedly cheating with my boyfriend."

"You hooked up with Bart when he was with me, too" Kristy shot back. "Turnabout is fair play. Isn't that the saying?"

Shannon raised an eyebrow, seeming both shocked and amused by Kristy's response. "Ah, but play time is over, my former friend."

Kristy crossed her arms defiantly. She was fuming at the fact that she had been set up. Fuming that Bart, of all people, had been part of it.

"Bart told me he was with you the night Mallory Pike died," Shannon announced.

"I-I don't remember that," Kristy lied.

"Really?" Shannon laughed in mock amusement, "Because there's video proof on Bart's phone."

Kristy went pale. Say what?

"That's right," Shannon continued to pace. "The Kristy Thomas sex tape does exist."

"I don't believe you."

"Believe this." Shannon snatched up Bart's phone from his dresser and quickly pulled up the video, as described.

"No!" Kristy groaned, nausea sweeping over her.

"Yep. Sickening, isn't it?" Shannon switched off the video.

"Delete it. Please delete it!" Kristy begged.

Shannon basked in Kristy's desperate pleas for a moment.

"You have to delete that video, Shannon!"

"Nope!" Shannon smiled, her eyes illuminated by crazy. "Stay away from Bart, or this video goes viral!"

Kristy's eyes widened. Shannon was blackmailing her?

"Never get near, talk to or look at Bart again," Shannon commanded, "Or else the world will see your disgusting little escapade."

Kristy nodded slowly. What else could she do?

"You can go now," Shannon told her, swinging open Bart's bedroom door.

As Kristy stepped into the hall, she saw by Bart. He looked apologetic and mouthed "Sorry."

Kristy averted her eyes. Clearly Shannon had found the video and was blackmailing both of them. And clearly she was insane enough to follow through with it.

Shannon followed Kristy down the stairs and to the front door. As Kristy opened the door to leave, Shannon leaned in close and whispered, "He's mine, bitch."

"You're the bitch, Shannon," Kristy snapped back.

"Bitch with a capital B," Shannon bragged ominously. "And don't you forget it."

Meanwhile, across town, Stacey and Dawn were finally leaving the Pike's house.

"I thought we'd never get out of there!" Stacey exclaimed, pulling the envelope out of her pocket as they stood by Stacey's car in the driveway.

"What does it say?" Dawn asked anxiously, looking over Stacey's shoulder.

"It's a letter to B," Stacey scanned. "It says 'Worst day ever. Jessi and I just had a huge fight. Our friendship is over. I feel like I have no one.'"

"Wow," Dawn remarked. "Mal and Jessi had a big fight? When did that happen?"

Stacey shrugged. "I didn't know about it."

"Keep reading," Dawn urged.

"Okay...'As if that wasn't enough, Ben has been acting distant. We're supposed to meet at our special spot tonight at 10. I feel like this will either be a new beginning – or the end. Let's meet soon – I need a good talk. Love, Mallory'."

"Sad," Dawn commented. "I wonder what happened?"

"Omg!" Stacey gasped, chilled by Mallory prophetic words. "This letter was dated the day Mallory died!"


	8. Chapter 8

The bell rang, signaling the end of another school day.

Mary Anne wandered, catatonic, through the halls. She really wasn't sure how she made it through the day. Her mind was miles away – in another place and time. In a darkness she had kept hidden for so long. It felt like it was killing her from inside.

But on she marched, going through the motions of the day. The motions of life.

"Hey," a voice called from the left. "Mary Anne!"

It was Logan. Literally the last person on earth she wanted to see.

"Mary Anne, please," Logan persisted as he caught up to her. "Can we talk?"

"There's nothing to talk about," she replied flatly, continuing to look straight ahead.

"That's bullshit, Mary Anne. There's a lot to talk about." Classic Logan. That temper always came out.

"I said no, Logan!" Mary Anne said forcefully.

"I'm worried about you," Logan pressed as he followed her out the doors of the school and toward the parking lot.

"You don't have the right to worry about me," Mary Anne told him. "Our relationship died with our secret."

Logan backed off and let Mary Anne go.

Dawn was standing nearby and witnessed the tense encounter.

"Is everything okay?" she asked her troubled step-sister.

"Define 'okay'," Mary Anne retorted.

Dawn responded with a half-smile. Mary Anne had made a joke...kind of. It felt like progress.

The girls rode home together in silence. Dawn still couldn't believe she was back in Stoneybrook. Back at Stoneybrook High. Back in the Babysitters Club. If only her relationship with Mary Anne was back where it once was, things might be okay. But, as it was, Dawn felt like a stranger in a strange land. It was lonely.

"Are you going to answer that?" Dawn asked, noticing Mary Anne's cellphone ringing. It was Logan calling.

"Nope."

"Is he trying to get back together again?" Dawn inquired.

"No...I don't know..." Mary Anne rubbed her eyes wearily, as if rubbing the frustration away. "That's never going to happen, though. I'm never getting back together with Logan Bruno."

"Because you suspect he's B?" Dawn guessed.

Mary Anne shook her head. "No. There's just things that happened between us that I'll never get past...What we did...I just couldn't..."

Perplexed at Mary Anne's cryptic answer, Dawn simply nodded supportively.

After a few minutes, Mary Anne spoke up again. "And Logan isn't B."

"How do you know?"

Mary Anne recounted what happened the night she left Kristy's sleepover. She told Dawn about her trip to the secret passage. And about Logan following her there – and how stunned and confused he was about the pictures lining the walls.

"Wow," Dawn marveled. "I can't believe you went there all alone at night! And I can't believe you didn't tell me about it sooner!"

"Yeah..." Mary Anne took a deep, shaky breath. "I guess I've been distant and isolated from everyone for awhile."

"It doesn't have to be that way," Dawn said softly. "Mary Anne, I'm your sister and I love you. Please know that you can trust me no matter what."

"Until you decide to run off to California again," Mary Anne muttered.

"I'm just trying to find myself and where I belong. Just like everybody else." Dawn choked on her words a bit. "No matter where I go, I'm still lost."

Mary Anne considered this for a moment and then reached over and put her hand on Dawn's. "I guess we're all screwed up in our own ways."

Dawn laughed as she wiped away a lone tear. "Yep!"

"Honestly," Mary Anne spoke slowly, as if she wasn't sure whether she wanted to continue or not, "I have more secrets than I can keep inside anymore."

"You can unload them on me," Dawn gave her sister's hand a squeeze. "Anytime."

"Good," Mary Anne was tentative with her words. "Because you might be the only person in our house I can trust anymore."

Mary Anne proceeded to tell Dawn about the telephone conversation she had overheard. She told her, word for word, what her dad had said. _Mary Anne can never know._

"It was really weird," Mary Anne concluded as the girls got out of the car and went inside their house.

"So he's paying someone to keep a secret from you?" Dawn clarified. "Are you sure you heard right?"

"Postive."

"Richard's so...so...straight-laced and squeaky clean," Dawn frowned. "That's all so out of character."

"I know," Mary Anne frowned. "And it's weird that this is happening at the same time as the B stuff. Right?"

"That is a big coincidence," Dawn admitted.

"I don't know what to think. Or what to do."

"I do," Dawn raised and eyebrow and looked toward Richard's vacant office.

Meanwhile, back in the school parking lot, Claudia was realizing that, once again, her car wouldn't start. She groaned in frustration and pounded on the steering wheel. Forget saving her babysitting money for art school, clearly she'd be sinking it all into a new car.

Claudia grabbed her cell phone. Who to call? Her parents were at work, both at least thirty minutes away. Janine had an afternoon class...and besides, she was still suspicious that something was going on with Janine. She could call Ashley Wyeth...

 _Knock knock knock._ Someone rapped on her window. "Need a ride?"

It was Stacey. Claudia nodded sheepishly, grabbed her belongings, and got in Stacey's car, effusing an awkward string of apologies and thank yous.

"No problem," Stacey assured her. "We have a BSC meeting tonight. Maybe we could hang out until then...If you don't have plans..."

"I don't," Claudia replied.

Claudia couldn't imagine how the two of them would spend an afternoon together. What did they have in common anymore?

As she feared, they rode in complete silence for several minutes.

"Are we insane?" Stacey asked suddenly.

"What do you mean?"

"For letting B control us," Stacey clarified. "Sometimes I think we should should just call B's bluff. You know?"

"Yeah," Claudia agreed verbally, but inside she wasn't so sure.

"I mean, this person is forcing us to babysit," Stacey went on, "They're forcing us to be friends again. Friendship and free enterprise isn't exactly frightening stuff. How dangerous could B really be?"

"I'm not sure I want to find out," Claudia admitted. "Jessi is paralyzed, Mallory is dead. B knows way too much about both of those things. I'm afraid B's just getting started."

As if on cue, Ben Hobart sped by them. He was staring straight ahead, his eyes glazed over as if his mind was a million miles away.

"Where's he going?" Claudia wondered aloud.

"Let's go find out!" Stacey suggested.

"For real?" Claudia balked. "Follow him?"

"Yes!" Stacey insisted. "Ben could be B. Let's solve this mystery once and for all!"

"Let's go!" Claudia agreed.

It had been so long since Stacey and Claudia had hung out together. They used to be best friends. As close as could be. They'd grown apart, like a lot of middle school friends do. But there was still something fondly familiar there. Something that had somehow withstood the time and space between them. The foundation of friendship that was, regardless of divergent life paths, everlasting.

As they sat together in Stacey's car, windows down and music blasting, they both realized how much they'd missed each other.

"I think he's going home," Claudia frowned as they tailed Ben's car.

"Disappointing," Stacey lamented, keeping a good amount of distance between her car and Ben's so he wouldn't notice them following him.

As suspected, Ben pulled into his own driveway and went inside.

"Stakeout?" Stacey suggested.

"Absolutely!" Claudia agreed, pulling a giant bag of Skittles from her purse.

The girls sat in the car, under a big tree just far enough down the street to not be too obvious. For several minutes the sat in silence, not sure what they were watching or waiting for. Ben was inside. He could be there all day and all night. Yet the girls remained, transfixed on the front door.

"You know," Claudia began tentatively, "I'm not sure I suspect Ben..."

Stacey looked at her quizzically.

"Don't tell anybody...because I'm not really sure what to make of it all..."

"I won't tell. Promise." Stacey leaned in, ready for the secret.

"I...I think B might be..." Claudia paused, momentarily doubting her decision to tell. "Janine."

Stacey's jaw dropped. "What?!"

"She's been acting really shady lately. I've caught her lying about where she was going." Claudia shrugged. "I mean, I guess it's not much...but..."

"It is suspicious that she's acting weird now, when all of this is going on," Stacey validated her.

"I can't figure out what her motive would be, though," Claudia frowned.

"It doesn't matter," Stacey shrugged, "Forcing the Babysitters Club to reunite isn't a viable motive for anyone...except maybe Kristy."

The girls laughed together.

"I've missed you, Claud." Stacey smiled at her old friend. The last true friend she'd ever had. All of her friends since then had been so superficial and shallow. The friendships didn't even compare.

"I've missed you, too, Stace," Claudia smiled back. But then something caught her eye and her smile faded. "Ben's leaving!"

Sure enough, Ben was getting back into his car. The girls watched as he pulled away and then followed at a safe distance.

"Is he going where I think he's going?" Claudia wondered.

"It looks like it," Stacey confirmed. "If we drive any further, he'll see us."

Stacey pulled to the side and the girls got out to walk the rest of the way. Claudia made sure to grab her Skittles as she got out.

The girls walked along the gravel road, their hearts pounding in their chests. As they rounded the bend, they saw Ben in the distance. He was crouched down at the edge of the cliff, looking down below – at the spot where Mallory's body was found.

"He's returned to the scene of the crime," Claudia whispered. "Criminals do that all the time."

"In the note I found in Mallory's room, she mentioned meeting Ben at their special spot." Stacey shook her head sadly. "Ben killed her at their special spot."

The girls watched Ben for several minutes. He just sat motionless, staring down at where Mallory had died. And then he pulled something from the backpack sitting beside him.

"Oh no!" Stacey hissed. "He's got a gun!"

Kristy arrived at Claudia's house at 5:15 after babysitting for Jenny Prezzioso. She knew she was early as always for the 5:30 BSC meeting, so she wasn't surprised that no one else was there yet. She sat in Claudia's room and waited...and waited. As the clock turned 5:30, Kristy still sat alone.

"Seriously?" she grunted, pulling out her cellphone and dialing Claudia's number.

No answer.

She dialed Stacey with the same results.

Next she called Dawn.

"Hello," Dawn answered.

"Where are you?" Kristy demanded.

"Oh, geez! Is it 5:30 already? We lost track of time!"

"You and Mary Anne?"

"Yep," Dawn replied. "We kind of got caught up in something..."

In the background, Kristy heard Mary Anne saying, "We've got to get out of here. My dad will be home soon."

"Hey, have you heard from Claudia or Stacey?" Kristy asked.

"No I -"

"I found something!" Mary Anne interrupted in the background. "Look at this!"

"Look, Kristy, I've gotta go," Dawn told her, hastily, hanging up without waiting for a response.

"What in the world...?" Kristy muttered, befuddled by the phone call. What were Mary Anne and Dawn doing? And where were Claudia and Stacey?

Just as she was about to call Claudia again, the doorbell rang.

"Must be Stacey," Kristy assumed, thundering down the stairs and taking it upon herself to answer the door.

She flung the door open, preparing to rip Stacey a new one for being late.

But it wasn't Stacey.

"Hello, Kristy." Jessi sat before her, in her wheelchair. Her eyes were on fire, but her voice was ice cold. "Am I late for the meeting?"


	9. Chapter 9

Kristy's heart pounded as Jessi glared at her.

"Aren't you going to invite me in?" Jessi prodded.

"N-Nobody's here..." Kristy stammered.

"Wow," Jessi remarked sarcastically, "Late to a BSC meeting. Off with their heads."

"Um...Come in," Kristy invited with false enthusiasm. She didn't want Jessi to come in at all. A small part of her suspected that Jessi was B. A big part of her was afraid to be around Jessi because of what had happened years ago. "The Jessi Thing", as they called it. It was the one moment Kristy regretted above all else in her life. And she was pretty certain the other girls felt the same way.

"Gee, what a warm invite," Jessi's sarcasm continued, bitterness radiating from her.

Kristy wasn't sure how to proceed. Jessi couldn't just wheel her chair into the house. Should Kristy pick her up and carry her in? That seemed incredibly awkward. Should she get Mr and Mrs Kishi from the kitchen to help? That didn't seem much less awkward. The awkwardness, of course, was compounded by the nagging voice in Kristy's head reminding her that she was responsible for Jessi's condition in the first place.

As Kristy was paralyzed by her thoughts, the literally paralyzed Jessi stared at her with an unnerving intensity. It was as though she was reading Kristy's thoughts. But did she know? Could she know the whole truth about the Jessi thing?

As far as Kristy knew, Jessi had blamed herself for what happened. She fell into a depression and isolated herself. She had become this cold, hard person. A personal perfectly capable of being B.

Jessi seemed aware of Kristy's inner dialogue, and seemed to be almost enjoying seeing Kristy's discomfort.

"So, uh...H-how can I help you?" Kristy finally offered.

Jessi smirked in reply. She pulled a shiny metal stick from beside her in the wheelchair seat.

 _Oh no!_ Kristy thought to herself, rapidly backing up several steps. _She has a weapon! Jessi's going to kill me!_

Across town, Mary Anne and Dawn scanned the book Mary Anne had found. It was a ledger for an account Mary Anne never knew her dad had...at a bank she never knew her dad to use. The only transactions were monthly transfers.

"This is it," Mary Anne said with certainty. "This is exactly what he was talking about on the phone."

Dawn leaned in for a closer look. Page after page of transactions, dating back years and years.

"These are all electronic transfers," Mary Anne noted. "It just lists an account number. No names."

Dawn frowned and flipped toward the back of the book. "Whoa, Mary Anne. Check this out. These are from before electronic transfers were around. These are copies of handwritten checks."

Mary Anne grabbed the book and gasped, gripped with shock and disbelief. "These checks are made out to Tabitha Porter."

"Is that...?" Dawn slowly began to process the information.

Mary Anne nodded and managed to reply. "Morbidda Destiny!"

Back at Claudia's house, Kristy was on the verge of screaming for help when Jessi grabbed the end of her shiny metal stick and extended it to an even longer stick.

 _It's not a weapon_ , Kristy realized, _it's a walking cane._

Jessi put the end of the cane to the floor and slowly raised herself up out of the wheelchair.

"You can walk!" Kristy exclaimed.

"Barely," Jessi informed her, as she braced herself on the door frame and slowly – very slowly – shuffled inside.

"We can just go to the living room," Kristy suggested, knowing that climbing the stairs would be far too much of a task.

It took quite some time for Jessi to make her way to the couch. Still, Kristy was amazed. As far as she knew, Jessi was going to be paralyzed forever. So this was truly remarkable progress.

As soon as they sat down, the front door swung open. Claudia and Stacey bounded in. They froze as soon as they saw Jessi, both looking questioningly at Kristy.

"Hello, girls," Jessi greeted them with an edge of bitterness in her voice.

"Where have you two been?" Kristy asked, noticing that both Claudia and Stacey were covered in leaves and dirt.

"Um..." Stacey glanced at Jessi, clearly reluctant to disclose anything in her presence, and then looked back at Kristy. "Long story."

"Where are Mary Anne and Dawn?" Claudia asked.

"They should be on their way," Kristy replied.

"So...Jessi...How have you been?" Claudia said, attempting to diffuse the discomfort of the situation.

"Cippled." Jessi answered succinctly. "How have _you_ been?"

They all shifted nervously. As far as they knew, Jessi had never learned the truth about "the Jessi thing". However, her bitter angst seemed to suggest otherwise. If she did know the truth, it would certainly give her motive to seek revenge.

The uncomfortable silence continued. The few minutes that passed seemed like hours. Kristy was dying to know why Stacey and Claudia were such a mess – and they were dying to tell her. But no one dared to speak as Jessi's glare scanned back and forth over them.

Finally, Mary Anne and Dawn burst in, out of breath. Just like Claudia and Stacey before them, they froze upon seeing Jessi.

"Everyone's here," Jessi spoke up. "Let's get started."

"What's going on?" Dawn asked nervously.

"Quiet!" Jessi snapped. "For now, I'll do the talking."

The girls went pale. Was this it? Was this their showdown with B?

Jessi planted her walking stick to the floor and slowly pulled herself to stand so that she was looking over the rest of them in a position of power, despite her weakness.

"Once upon a time, I had a group of friends," Jessi began, "Great friends. Loyal, trustworthy, kind, there for you no matter what, best friends you'll ever have type of friends. Then one day, everything changed. Something terrible happened. Something that ruined my life. I lost my ability to walk. My ability to dance. My ability to live a normal life. But the real tragedy was that I also lost my so-called great friends. No one came to visit me. No one called. No one treated me like I mattered."

The BSC was silent. They couldn't dispute any of what she said.

 _Two years earlier...It had been a great summer. The BSC had been busier than ever. And Kristy, in typical fashion, was intent on hosting an elaborate and overly ambitious end of summer event._

" _We're going to have a circus!" Kristy announced. "Bigger and better than anything we've ever done!"_

" _I could dress up as a clown," Claudia offered as she ate spoonfuls of marshmallow fluff straight out of the jar._

" _I can juggle," Mallory added. "Sort of."_

" _No, no, no," Kristy admonished them. "Bigger!"_

" _Like what?" Mary Anne wondered._

 _And then Kristy laid out her master plan. She would be the ringmaster, of course. Logan would be the magician with Mary Anne as the magician's assistant. Bart would put on a stunt show on his motor scooter. Claudia and Mallory would be clowns, complete with juggling and riding unicycles._

" _And Stacey," Kristy had began, "I thought you could -"_

" _No," Stacey cut her off. "Whatever it is, NO. This is ridiculous!"_

" _It's not ridiculous," Kristy huffed, crossing her arms defensively. "It'll be amazing."_

" _You expect me to learn to juggle and ride a unicycle in two weeks," Claudia pointed out. "That's kind of ridiculous."_

" _And I'm not sure about doing a magic show with Logan," Mary Anne added. "We've been fighting a lot lately."_

 _Kristy was becoming clearly agitated. "Fine. You do the magic show on your own, Mary Anne. And Claudia, you do the unicycle and Mallory can juggle. Stacey, since you're too good to be part of it, you can just collect tickets and help the rest of us out with the main event."_

" _What's the main event?" Stacey asked disinterestedly as she flipped through a magazine._

 _Kristy beamed. "Jessi is going to walk a tightrope!"_

" _Whaaaaat?" Jessi balked. "Are you serious?"_

 _Kristy nodded. "You've been in ballet forever. With your awesome balance and coordination and grace, it's perfect!"_

" _I don't know," Jessi resisted. "That's dangerous."_

" _I've done research," Kristy explained. "There will be a safety harness and a safety net. All of us will be involved to make sure it's totally safe."_

 _Kristy proved to be a fantastic salesman, convincing everyone to go along with her plan. Then she bossed everyone into strict practice schedules. Before anyone could come to their senses and object, she sent out lavish invitations to all of their clients. The response was overwhelming. Everyone in Stoneybrook was buzzing about the BSC Circus. The girls felt compelled to perform._

 _But on the day of the big show, things began to fall apart. Mary Anne and Logan were up all night fighting. Claudia got a rejection letter from an art publication. Kristy found out Bart was cheating on her with Shannon. Mallory was recovering from a terrible stomach bug. And Stacey met and fell instantly in love with the college aged guy who delivered the circus tent. Everyone had their mind on something else._

 _They managed to pull themselves together for the show, but things didn't quite go according to plan. Kristy kept flubbing her lines as ringmaster. Claudia kept falling off her unicycle. Mallory kept dropping her balls. Mary Anne gave the most lackluster magic show in the history of the world. And Stacey was too busy Facebook stalking her new crush to pay attention to any of it._

" _This is a mess," Kristy vented to the other girls. "But we can save it all with the tightrope act! Seriously – it will blow everyone away! Let's get it set up!"_

 _The atrocious start to their circus should have been sufficient foreshadowing to alert them to call the whole thing off. They should've stopped right then. But they didn't._

 _Mallory and Claudia were in charge of setting up the rope, which was to be tied between two sturdy trees. Stacey and Kristy were in charge of setting up the safety net. And Mary Anne was in charge of fastening Jessi into the safety harness._

 _Jessi climbed the tree to the rope. Below she could see all the excited faces of the children. She could also see Stacey rapidly typing on her phone...Claudia glumly staring off into space... Mary Anne yawning... Kristy glaring at Bart and Shannon in the audience... Mallory looking exceedingly queasy and on the verge of passing out. All those things should've been red flags. Jessi should've climbed back down and walked away. But she didn't._

 _She stepped onto the rope. It was much higher than she'd practiced on. But she continued on, shaky but still steady. The crowd was amazed. She could hear them gasping. It took several seconds for her to realize they weren't gasping in awe. They were gasping in horror. Jessi was falling._

 _It seemed to happen in slow motion. She could see it happening, millisecond by millisecond. She could see Charlotte Johanssen's face contort as she screamed. She could see Andrew Brewer cover his eyes in horror. She could see her own father leaping from his seat and attempting to come to her rescue. She could see each member of the BSC slowly becoming aware of what was happening. And then she saw nothing. She woke up in a hospital where she was told she may never walk again. She went through a range of emotions. Denial. Anger. Self-pity. Despair._

 _Mallory came to visit often. All she got from the rest of the BSC was a plastic vase of white carnations sent from the hospital gift shop._

" _It was our fault," Mary Anne had lamented. "We did this to her. I was so tired from fighting with Logan that I didn't pay close enough attention when I was fastening the safety harness. I put the clip in the wrong place."_

" _And I was so preoccupied with Bart and Shannon that I didn't put my end of the safety net in the right place," Kristy admitted. "It was too loose."_

" _I think I'm the one that screwed up the safety net," Stacey argued. "I was totally distracted by that cute guy...I'm always distracted by a stupid guy."_

" _But I'm sure I messed up the tightrope," Claudia said, on the verge of tears. "I couldn't remember how high it was supposed to go or exactly how much rope to use. I mean, I suck at math in the first place, but my submission to that art magazine had just been rejected that day. I was feeling particularly dumb and worthless. I'm sure the rope was too loose and unsteady because of me."_

" _I was sick," Mallory lamented. "I suppose I could've made a mistake with the rope."_

 _It was clear that each of them could have been responsible for Jessi's accident. Each one blamed themselves, but secretly hoped that one of the others was really to blame. Little by little, they each convinced themselves to believe it. Denial was better than living with the guilt._

 _The agreed to keep it a secret. They were all too afraid to face the truth._

 _Of course Jessi knew that the safety harness had failed. And that the safety net did not properly break her fall. But she didn't know that her friends were directly responsible for those errors because of their own negligence. All she knew was that they hadn't been there for her in the aftermath._

"You all abandoned me," Jessi accused. "You couldn't be bothered to have a disabled friend."

"It wasn't like that," Dawn tried to explain. She hadn't been in Stoneybrook when it happened. She had been visiting her dad in California. But she knew everyone's secret shame and had carried it with her as if it had been her own. She knew that none of them had been able to face Jessi because of the guilt they were feeling.

It was that same guilt that drove the BSC apart that very same summer.

Seeing each other was a constant reminder of what had happened. Every BSC meeting resurrected the shameful secret, keeping it at the forefront of their minds at all times.

Dawn had been the first to go. She was so affected by Mary Anne's guilt – nightmares, despondence, preoccupation – that she just wanted to get away. She moved back to California two weeks later – and had been there ever since.

Stacey was next. She claimed she wanted to have more free time for extracurricular activities (aka boys and parties) in the upcoming school year.

Then Mary Anne dropped out. She claimed her father wanted her to concentrate on her studies as she entered high school. But that was nothing more than a convenient excuse.

Claudia quickly divulged that she didn't want to babysit anymore. She had an arsenal of reasons. She wanted to spend more time on art. She needed more time for homework. She was ready to finally have a social life outside of the BSC.

Kristy was simultaneously heartbroken and relieved at the fall of the BSC. It had been her creation. It was something she was proud of. But the Jessi thing had hit her just as hard as the rest – and she knew that her outlandish idea for the circus was the cause of it all. So the BSC ended just as it had started – with one of Kristy's big ideas.

"I'm so sorry, Jessi," Kristy began to cry. "You have no idea..."

"Oh, actually, I have a pretty good idea," Jessi argued. "Mallory told me the truth. About a week before she died."

"What?" the group gasped in unison.

"Mallory told me how each of you thought you were responsible for my accident," Jessi explained. "She said she couldn't live with the guilt anymore."

The room was virtually shaking from the five pounding hearts of Kristy, Claudia, Mary Anne, Stacey and Dawn.

"I got so mad at her," Jessi got choked up as tears poured from her eyes. She collapsed back onto the couch, clearly emotionally spent. "I yelled at her. I told her I never wanted to be friends with her again. I even said I hated her for keeping your secret from me."

"Oh, Jessi." Dawn reached out and grabbed her hand.

"She died thinking I hated her," Jessi cried. "And then they said she committed suicide. I just...I blamed myself. And that made me even more angry at all of you."

No one said a word. They felt horrible.

"But then..." Jessi wiped away her tears and straightened up. "Then I found out she was killed."

Jessi snapped her hand away from Dawn's. She pulled herself back up and glared, once again, at each of the girls.

"And the five of you killed her." Jessi's voice was cold and hard. The words seemed to echo.

"Us?" Kristy was aghast. "No!"

"You found out that she told." Jessi explained her reasoning as she shuffled across the room. "You were angry. You were afraid she'd go to the police. So you came together after two years of ignoring each other and came up with a solution."

"No, Jessi," Mary Anne told her. "That's not true."

"I mean, I figured it couldn't have been just a coincidence that the five of you started hanging out again after she died." Jessi continued. "Hell, she was barely in the ground before you started handing out Babysitters Club fliers again."

"You've got it all wrong," Claudia assured her. "We didn't...we wouldn't...we never..."

Jessi interrupted. "The detectives investigating Mallory's murder were particularly interested in the story."

It was as if the air had been sucked out of the room. No one could speak, move or even breathe.

Jessi continued out of the room, out the front door, and into her wheelchair. She wheeled off into the night, leaving the BSC to suffer with her revelation.

"It's just like B warned us," Claudia broke the silence. "Jessi told the detectives what happened."

"And they'll think that we had a motive to kill Mallory," Kristy muttered in disbelief. "You guys, we're viable suspects now."

"But we didn't know she told Jessi," Stacey reminded her. "And if even we had known, we wouldn't have killed her because of it."

"That's not a great defense argument," Kristy grunted.

"Yeah, but the fact that they don't have any real evidence is," Claudia pointed out. "No DNA or physical evidence or whatever."

"Unless they do..." Mary Anne spoke softly.

"What do you mean?" Kristy asked.

"I don't remember anything from that night," Mary Anne said. "What if I was there? What if I did it?"

"You didn't," Stacey told her, with complete confidence. "Because someone else did."

She and Claudia exchanged glances.

"This afternoon we followed Ben Hobart. He went to the cliff above where Mallory's body was found." Stacey recounted. "He had a gun."

"A gun?!" Dawn, Kristy and Mary Anne cried out.

"Shh!" Claudia admonished, "My parents will hear us! Let's go outside and discuss this."

The group hurried outside and congregated in the driveway near Stacey's car.

"Okay, so what happened?" Kristy prompted.

Stacey continued her story. "He pulled a gun from his backpack. He just sat there with it. For hours."

"We hid in the bushes," Claudia added. "We were afraid he'd shoot if he saw us."

"That's crazy!" Kristy exclaimed.

"They say the guilty party often returns to the scene of the crime," Claudia noted. "So...maybe Ben killed Mallory. And returned to the scene of the crime."

"Wow..." Dawn marveled. "We have to tell the detectives working the case."

"I don't know if we should," Claudia argued. "If they already suspect us, they might suspect us more if we try to throw suspicion on another suspect."

"Strangely, that makes sense," Stacey supported.

"No, that's crazy," Dawn countered indignantly.

"This whole situation is crazy," Stacey retorted. "We can't possibly explain it rationally to anyone."

"Besides," Claudia disclosed, "We saw the detectives sitting in a car across from Ben's house on our way back. I think they're already onto him."

"Which is why we should stay out of it," Stacey insisted.

"But is Ben B?" Dawn asked in confusion. "Or is Jessi B?

"Or someone else entirely?" Claudia added.

Right on cue, Claudia's comment was punctuated with the familiar sound of text message notifications. First Claudia's, then Stacey's, then Dawn's, then Mary Anne's, then Kristy's.

 _The killer is closer than you think._

 _-B_

"What does that mean?" Dawn wondered.

"It means I'm the killer," Mary Anne worried. "Closer than you think? That's me."

"No," Kristy assured, "It just means that B is going to continue to torment us until Mallory's killer is found."

"Or until we all go crazy," Stacey joked. "I'm going home to shower, guys. Nobody talk to anybody about anything for now. Okay?"

Everyone agreed and went their separate ways. Claudia watched as Stacey pulled away, followed by Mary Anne and Dawn and then Kristy.

As she turned to go back inside, she saw Janine standing by the window looking out at her...with a cellphone in her hand.


	10. Chapter 10

By the end of the week, Claudia was a nervous wreck. She had been suspicious of Janine – her own sister – for awhile, but after seeing her standing in the window, watching, with a cellphone right after the girls got a group text from B...well, that made her more certain than ever.

The other girls weren't entirely convinced, but Kristy decided the BSC meetings should be held at Stacey's house "just in case". So, on Friday evening, the girls convened for their regular 5:30 meeting. In Stacey's bedroom.

"Why would Janine do it?" Kristy asked, pacing the floor. "What would be her motive?"

"Yeah," Dawn agreed, "Why would Janine want the BSC back together? And when would Janine and Mallory have formed some big, secret bond?"

"And why would she know who the killer is but not tell the police?" Mary Anne chimed in.

"I don't know," Claudia threw her hands up in exasperation. "I just know something weird is going on with her."

"Ben still makes the most sense at this point," Dawn insisted.

"But Janine's acting so shady!" Claudia just couldn't let it go.

Dawn and Mary Anne exchanged glances, as if telepathically trying to decide whether to speak up or not. Dawn gave a little nod of encouragement.

"Janine's not the only family member acting strange," Mary Anne spoke up. "The other night, I heard my dad on the phone. Apparently there's some kind of big secret that I'm not supposed to know about. At least, I assume he was referring to me. Anyway, he's been paying a huge sum of money to someone for years..."

Everyone looked at Mary Anne quizzically, waiting for her to continue.

"The person he's been paying money to..." she paused and took a deep breath, "Is Tabitha Porter... Morbidda Destiny."

Jaws dropped simultaneously around the room.

"Guys, remember that night I went to see Sam and I saw Mrs. Porter looking out the window at me?" Stacey exclaimed. "And I had that note on my car saying not to trust anybody."

"So now you're thinking Mrs. Porter is B?" Claudia clarified.

"That makes less sense than any of our other suspects," Dawn noted.

"I agree," Kristy said after a moment of consideration. "But it is really odd that your dad is giving her money...Really, really odd."

"AND there was that story Charlie told us at the sleepover," Stacey reminded them. "About Mrs. Porter being kidnapped or whatever years ago."

"How does that tie in?" Kristy challenged.

"I don't know...I'm just trying to connect dots, just like everyone else." Stacey sighed.

"This keeps getting weirder by the minute," Claudia commented, shoving a powdered doughnut into her mouth and getting crumbs all over her tie-dyed t-shirt dress and knee high zebra print Uggs.

Kristy checked her watch. "I've gotta go. I'm sitting for the Pikes tonight."

"I've gotta go, too," Stacey said. "Date with Sam!"

"Yeah," Claudia chimed in, shaking powdered sugar off the 20 Mardi Gras beaded necklaces hanging around her neck. "I'm supposed to hang out with Ashley tonight."

"Everybody text or call immediately if anything weird happens," Kristy commanded. "We'll figure this out. I know we will."

"Figure this mess out and we should become a Private Investigation Club instead of a Babysitters Club," Dawn joked.

Everyone went their separate ways for the night, minds heavily laden with conspiracy and confusion.

Claudia arrived at Ashley Wyeth's house, realizing she honestly had no desire to be there. She felt like she was living in a bubble – a BSC and B bubble – and had lost all inspiration for her art.

Ashley ushered her inside and straight to her "studio", which was just a small extra bedroom filled with art supplies. Still, it was really cool.

"I thought we'd do some still life." Ashley led her to a set of easels set up in front of a pile of books meant to be their subject.

"Okay," Claudia agreed weakly, having little desire to even pick up a brush.

"So," Ashley lead as they began to paint. "Have you saved enough money for art camp yet?"

"Huh? Oh...um, no. Not yet."

"Are you getting a lot of babysitting jobs?" Ashley inquired.

Claudia shrugged, "I guess. A couple a week."

Ashley frowned. "That doesn't sound lucrative. Maybe you need to advertise more."

Claudia didn't respond. She just kept painting the stack of books.

Ashley continued to talk about various art-related things. Claudia inserted nods and perfunctory murmurs of "interesting" and "that sounds cool" as needed.

Eventually, both girls completed their paintings. Ashley examined Claudia's work.

"Claudia," she scolded, "This is so flat and uninspired. Your perspective is really off."

"Sorry," Claudia offered an empty apology. Frankly, she didn't care at all.

"Come see mine," Ashley urged, pulling her to the other easel.

"It looks great," Claudia told her.

"You are equally capable, Claudia." Ashley lectured as she signed her name to the bottom of the canvas. "Keep babysitting and saving money. You could really use this art camp."

Ashley finished her signature with flourish and stepped back to admire her work some more. Claudia's eyes fixed on Ashley's name. She signed it in the same, peculiar way she always had – with the y curving back to make a sideways heart – a heart that looked a lot like the letter B.

And then she noticed the titles of the stack of Nancy Drew books in the painting. _A Question of Guilt. The Silent Suspect. The Stranger in the Shadows. The Clue in the Diary._

Already on edge, Claudia couldn't help but succumb to the paranoia.

Was the truth right in front of her? Could Ashley Wyeth be B?

On the other side of Stoneybrook, Stacey pulled up to the Brewer house. She and Sam were going to stay in and watch a movie. Not exactly Stacey's idea of a great date night, but Sam was really excited to see the movie, so she decided to be a good sport. Plus, Sam had just told her he was saving money for a new car, which made going out and spending money at a fancy restaurant seem irresponsible. Besides, Stacey had to babysit for Charlotte Johanssen early in the morning. A relaxing night in was probably a good idea...even if it was a little boring. At least maybe it would get her mind off of all the B nonsense.

Sam greeted Stacey at the door and lead her to the den. He had already made popcorn and was anxious to start the movie, so they snuggled up on the couch and hit play.

Just as the opening credits began to roll, Charlie walked in. With Janine.

"Whoa!" Charlie exclaimed, "I've been dying to see this! Can we watch, too?"

"Uh...sure," Sam agreed.

"Charlie," Janine protested, "I thought we were going to the coffee shop."

"Aw, babe," Charlie begged, "Can't we just stay and watch the movie first?"

Janine reluctantly agreed, casting a strange glance toward Stacey. Her eyes lingered, seeming to study Stacey. As if she knew something Stacey didn't know.

Stacey began to freak out internally. _OMG. What if Janine really is B? I could be on a double date with B right now. What should I say? Should I ask her a question to test her? But what? Should I let her know I know?_

She could feel Janine's eyes on her as they watched the movie. Every time she'd try to catch her looking, Janine was quickly glance away.

"Mallory would've loved this movie," Stacey blurted out. "Don't you guys think?"

Charlie, Janine and Sam looked at her as if she's just grown a second head. Maybe it was a weird thing to say, but Stacey really wanted to gauge Janine's reaction to the mention of Mallory.

"We didn't really know her very well," Charlie shrugged.

Janine didn't reply, but Stacey could see that she was becoming increasingly uncomfortable. Restless. Fidgeting with her watchband. Looking around the room, unable to focus on anything.

After about ten minutes, Janine could take no more.

"I'm not feeling so well," she whispered to Charlie. "I'm going to go home."

Stacey felt victorious. She had gotten the confirmation she needed. Janine was definitely hiding something. Stacey was sure of it – Janine was B.

Meanwhile, at the Pike's house, Kristy finished putting the girls and Nicky to bed. The triplets were spending the night at a friend's house, so she just had the four youngest Pike kids. It was a very easy night.

With the kids asleep, the house was way too quiet. It made it way too easy for Kristy's mind to obsess on B, especially when she got a text from Claudia alleging that now Ashley Wyeth was a viable suspect.

 _Ben and Mallory were having problems...they were supposed to meet the night she died...Now he's going to that very spot - with a gun...That's crazy suspicious_ , Kristy thought. _Claudia thinks Janine and Ashley Wyeth have been acting weird...but neither of those make sense...Of course, I think Shannon's pretty shady...And then there's the Morbidda Destiny stuff...Everyone is a suspect! None of this makes sense!_

"Ugh!" Kristy exclaimed. "I've got to do something to keep busy."

She wandered around the Pike's living room, pausing at the bookcase. Maybe a good book would take her mind of things.

As she perused the selection, something caught her eye in the mirror next to the bookshelf. A reflection of the big front window.

She saw someone standing in the front yard.

With a startled gasp, she whirled around to look out the window herself.

There was no one there.

Shaking, Kristy moved toward the window for a better look. Maybe someone walking their dog had paused in front of the house. Maybe the shadows and moonlight had created an optical illusion resembling a human form.

Nope. Nothing anywhere.

"Maybe I was just imagining things," Kristy mumbled to herself, realizing how badly she was shaking. She pulled the curtains closed. "I've got to find something to do to keep me busy. I'm going crazy here."

Kristy decided to clean the house. It would keep her occupied for quite a while – and certainly the Pikes would appreciate it as well. She put away the dishes, swept the floors, wiped down the counter tops and kitchen table, and separated the recycling. Before she knew it, it was nearly time for the Pikes to return home.

She grabbed the bag of recyclables and headed to the basement, where the Pikes kept their recycling bins. It was an unfinished basement. Dark and damp. It was full of boxes and old toys. There was a tv and a futon in one corner, where the Pike boys played video games. On the opposite corner was the recycling bins. Kristy went over and put the items she had collected in their designated bins. As she put the last cereal box in, she noticed something peculiar.

Beside the recycling was a wall of boxes. Behind the boxes was a small window, near the ceiling. The window was propped open.

Kristy walked over for a closer look. When she did, she noticed a space between two large boxes. It was actually kind of a nook. It looked like a little hideout. There was an old quilt in it. And an empty box of crackers.

Kristy wondered if perhaps Nicky used it as a secret spot to get away from his siblings. He was notorious for doing such a thing. She knelt down and looked deeper into the hideout. There was a pile of papers. Kristy grabbed them and immediately recognized the handwriting.

"These are letters from Mallory," she gasped, skimming a few of the pages. "These are letters Mallory wrote to B!"

Before she could truly absorb the situation, she heard the Pikes car pulling into the driveway. She stuffed the letters into the pocket of her Stoneybrook High sweatshirt and hurried upstairs. Her mind was racing so fast, she couldn't focus on a singular thought for more than a second.

 _Why were Mal's letters to B in the Pike's basement? Why was the basement window propped open? Had someone really been standing in the front yard watching her through the window?_

Just when she thought the mystery couldn't get any more confusing, it had.

A few blocks away, Mary Anne and Dawn were getting ready for bed. They had spent the evening pretending to work on an important school assignment just so they could lock themselves in Mary Anne's room and avoid Mr. Spier.

"I can't take all of unknowns," Mary Anne sighed. "I don't know what's going on with my dad and Mrs. Porter...I don't remember what happened the night Mallory died...I don't know who B is..."

"And we don't know how the detectives are going to handle the Jessi thing," Dawn added, sighing in agreement. "It's a lot of stress."

"I feel like I haven't slept in weeks," Mary Anne complained. "I feel like there's this giant weight on me all the time."

"I understand," Dawn gave her step-sister a sympathetic frown.

Mary Anne flopped backwards onto the bed, staring at the ceiling. "Can I tell you something?"

"Of course," Dawn laid beside her.

"After you moved back to California...after the Jessi thing, everything changed for me," Mary Anne took a deep breath and did her best to conjure up as much courage as she could. "After the BSC broke up, I had no one. You were gone and the rest of us drifted apart. Logan was all I had. Things weren't good between us, but I stayed with him. Just because I didn't have anybody else."

Dawn nodded sympathetically. "I'm sorry."

"I was really unhappy, but I convinced myself that I needed Logan." Mary Anne continued, still staring blankly at the ceiling. "Now and then we'd break up, but we'd get back together. He would always manipulate me into thinking things were my fault. I literally had no self-esteem."

"I had no idea it was that bad," Dawn commented.

"It gets worse," Mary Anne warned her.

Dawn nodded for her to continue. She knew things had gotten bad for Mary Anne. So bad that she had become an unrecognizable shell of her former self. But no one ever really knew why. She was eager to find out so she could understand her sister better.

"Eventually Logan pressured me into sleeping with him," Mary Anne disclosed. "And I got pregnant."

"What!?" Dawn shot upright as if she'd been flung from a catapult.

"It was a little over a year ago," Mary Anne's voice was suddenly so small and meek. "I didn't know what to do. Logan convinced me to get an abortion."

Dawn clasped her hand over her mouth, overcome with pure shock.

"I went along with it," Mary Anne went on. "I was so lost and depressed. I felt hopeless. I had started drinking to escape. I was such a mess."

Dawn didn't know what to say. She just listened.

"Logan convinced me that it was the right thing to do. He paid for it. He made all the arrangements. I just did what he said. I was to embarrassed to confide in anyone. I just drank away the pain and retreated even further into isolation."

"I wish I had been here for you," Dawn said.

"And then the clinic told me I had chlamydia."

"Whoa...Wait...What?"

"Yeah," Mary Anne closed her eyes for a moment, retreating into the memory. "Logan was the only guy I'd ever been with. And I was supposed to be the only girl he had been with. But I had chlamydia."

"Oh no," Dawn shook her head in disbelief.

"Logan had been cheating on me," Mary Anne recalled. "With Cokie Mason."

"That asshole!" Dawn growled, punching a pillow.

"I broke up with him," Mary Anne opened her eyes again. "And then I truly was _all_ alone."

Dawn could feel tears building as she listened to her sister's trauma.

"I hated myself for what I'd become," Mary Anne began to cry softly. "I didn't recognize myself anymore. It was scary."

"I'm so sorry, Mary Anne."

Mary Anne exhaled heavily. "Holding all of that in for all this time has been such a burden. I hate what happened, but I'm so glad to let it out."

"You can let it go now, Mary Anne," Dawn told her. "Just let it go."

Dawn put her arm around her sister and they cried together. They cried until they both fell asleep.

But then, at two o'clock sharp, Mary Anne awoke with a gasp. She jumped out of bed.

"Mary Anne?" Dawn raised up, squinting sleepily into the darkness. "Are you okay?"

"No," Mary Anne replied, looking ghostly pale in the moonlight. "I remember what happened to me the night Mallory died. I remember everything!"


	11. Chapter 11

"I remember what happened the night Mallory died," Mary Anne repeated.

The shaft of moonlight coming through the window illuminated her face. Eyes wide, mouth agape, face ghostly pale, she had a look of sheer terror.

"I was drinking all night," Mary Anne recalled. "I ended up at that party – the party Stacey mentioned. Half the school was there."

Dawn listened as Mary Anne spoke. Mary Anne's voice was soft and monotone as she relayed the painful memory.

"I left with someone. He took me to a private place to make out." Mary Anne shook her head. "I was drunk and stupid."

Dawn shrugged. "Sometimes teenagers do dumb things."

"No! You don't understand!" Mary Anne protested. "The boy I left with...was Ben Hobart!"

Dawn gasped, "Mallory's boyfriend!"

"And the private place he took me to..." Mary Anne paused to take a deep breath, "It was the cliff where Mallory was killed just a few hours later."

Dawn gasped again.

"I was so out of it," Mary Anne went on. "I didn't care about Ben. I wasn't interested in him. I was just there."

"You were in a really dark place in your life," Dawn sympathized. "I get it."

"It gets worse," Mary Anne said as tears began to fall.

"Worse? Okay. Go on."

"Mallory caught us there," Mary Anne closed her eyes tightly, clearly pained by the memory. "She was screaming at us. She was so angry. She kept yelling 'How could you? How could you'."

"Then what happened?" Dawn asked, anxious to know but afraid of the answer.

"She left," Mary Anne recalled. "Mallory left."

Dawn exhaled, semi-relieved. Mallory was still dead – and someone was responsible for it...but she was glad to know it wasn't Mary Anne.

"She ran away crying. She cut through the field as if she was headed toward her house." Mary Anne wrapped her arms around herself tightly. "I guess that's when she threw away that picture of Ben I found in the garbage."

"What did you and Ben do after Mal ran away?" Dawn was on the edge of her seat.

"Ben took off after her."

"Oh?" Dawn grimaced. "He probably caught up with her. I bet he is the killer!"

"It seems that way," Mary Anne admitted.

"What did you do?"

"I passed out under a tree," Mary Anne began to pace around her room. "And that's when something really weird happened."

"What?" Dawn leaned in, all ears.

"I woke up...it must have been just an hour or so later...in the back seat of a car."

"Whose car?"

"I...I was still drunk and it's all foggy," Mary Anne walked faster as she talked. "But...I think the driver of the car was...was..."

"Who, Mary Anne?" Dawn exclaimed. "Who was driving the car?"

Mary Anne stopped dead in her tracks. "It was Mrs. Porter!"

Hours later, Kristy and Claudia met at the park. Claudia, wearing cheetah print leggings and thigh high white patent leather boots under a neon green knit poncho, was sitting for Laura and Gabbie Perkins. Kristy, in her standard Stoneybrook High t-shirt and jeans, brought her brother David Michael and her step-brother Andrew. As the kids played, Claudia and Kristy discussed their recent brushes with B activity.

"I can't believe you found letters Mallory wrote to B in the Pike's basement," Claudia balked, knocking back a box of Nerds she had stuffed in her purse, which was made out of newspaper. "Maybe that means one of the Pikes is B?"

"I don't know," Kristy countered. "The window was propped open, so it kinda seems like someone was - or is - sneaking in and out."

"Creepy!" Claudia shuddered.

"Someone was there," Kristy was certain. "Standing in the front yard, watching me through the window."

"What time was it?" Claudia asked.

"I had just put the kids to bed...so it was about 9 o'clock, I guess."

"I left Ashley's at 8:45," Claudia began to get excited. "She could've left right after and gotten to the Pike's house easily by 9."

Kristy suppressed an eye roll. "I highly doubt Ashley Wyeth is B."

"But the way she signs her name on her paintings...the heart looks just like a B!" Claudia argued. "AND the selection of Nancy Drew books she had us painting was a huge clue. PLUS, she's suddenly uber-supportive of me babysitting to save money for art school."

"Circumstantial," Kristy waved her hand dismissively.

"Well...based on her diary entries, we can tell Mallory and B have a strong bond," Claudia continued. "So maybe Mallory approached Ashley, just like she did me, about helping illustrate her novel. Maybe she and Ashley bonded over that."

"Speculative," Kristy shook her head.

"I guess I just want it to be her so it's not Janine," Claudia explained softly.

"Oh, it's Janine alright!" a voice startled them from behind.

Stacey marched up, hand in hand with Charlotte Johanssen.

"Go play, sweetie," Stacey told Charlotte. "I'll be sitting here with Kristy and Claudia."

Charlotte ran off and Stacey, dressed fashionably in fashionable fashions, sat down beside Claudia.

"Sam and I watched a movie with Charlie and Janine last night," Stacey told them. "She was giving me really weird looks! She has to be B."

Kristy gasped. "What time was this?"

Stacey shrugged. "We started the movie at about 8, I think? Maybe a little after."

"Then it's not her!" Claudia exclaimed with glee.

"Huh?" Stacey asked.

"Someone was standing in the Pike's yard watching me last night. I'm pretty sure it was B." Kristy explained. "At 9 o'clock. So if Janine was with you watching a movie, she couldn't have been standing in the Pike's yard!"

"Janine couldn't be B!" Claudia effused with relief.

"But Janine left early," Stacey explained. "I mentioned Mallory just to see how she would react. She got nervous, told Charlie she didn't feel well, and left."

"What time?" Claudia demanded.

Stacey thought for a moment. "It was just after 8:30."

Claudia went pale. Janine could've easily been the one standing outside the Pike's house. Considering all of the other shady clues, Janine was certainly a prime suspect to be B.

"But there are still other suspects," Kristy spoke up, noticing Claudia's dismay. "Shannon is certainly crazy enough to be B..."

"And don't forget Ben Hobart," Stacey added. "There's definitely something going on with Ben Hobart."

At the very moment those words were spoken, Mary Anne stepped up to Ben Hobart's door.

 _What am I doing?_ She thought. _Ben is probably Mallory's killer. He's dangerous. Claudia and Stacey saw him with a gun. I shouldn't be here. I should go._

She wavered and considered running back to her car, driving home, and forgetting everything. She wanted to know what happened that night. She wanted to piece things together and solve the mystery, ending the nightmare once and for all. But at what cost? Her own life?

 _A few months ago, I wouldn't have cared if my life was in danger_ , Mary Anne realized. _But now...The BSC is back together. I have my friends back. I have my sister back. I feel like I have something to live for again._

Before she could go _,_ the door swung open. Ben Hobart stood before her. He had a backpack flung over one shoulder and was clearly heading out. He was startled to see someone on the front porch. And even more startled to see that it was Mary Anne.

"What are you doing here?" he asked.

"I have to ask you about something." Mary Anne replied, attempting to sound strong and brave.

"What?" he grunted, seeming agitated.

"I want to know what happened the night Mallory died."

Ben looked past her. He looked at the ground. Anywhere he could look to avoiding looking Mary Anne in the eye.

"I need to know what happened, Ben."

Ben didn't answer. He clutched his backpack tightly.

"Please, Ben. Tell me what happened." Mary Anne pressed sternly.

"Leave me alone," Ben mumbled.

"I just want some answers, Ben!" Mary Anne yelled, surprised by the volume and anger in her voice.

"You wanna know what happened?" Ben exploded. He unzipped his backpack, pulled out a gun, and glared at Mary Anne. "Come with me."

Less than a mile away, Dawn lowered herself into the familiar secret passage that she had "discovered" a few years earlier. And now, it seemed, it was B's lair.

A clue to B's identity had to be there. Dawn just knew it.

She turned the flashlight on her cellphone on and took a look around. The photographs of the BSC still lined the walls.

"Why?" Dawn wondered aloud. "Why is B so obsessed with us?"

As she scanned the area, something on the floor in the corner caught her eye. It appeared to be a photo album. She stepped over and picked it up, opening to a random page. Staring back at her was Mallory, surrounded by her smiling family, on one of their annual trips to Sea City. Dawn flipped toward the back of the album. It was filled with pages of fairly recent photos of Mallory. Dawn studied the photos and noticed that they were all taken in the same place – atop the cliff where Mallory had died.

Before Dawn could go any further, she heard someone climbing down into the passage behind her. She frantically threw the photo album down, dropping her phone in the process, and whirled around only to be blinded by the beams of a flashlight.

A familiar voice greeted, "Hello, Dawn."


	12. Chapter 12

"Hi, Dawn!" the voice repeated.

Dawn squinted to see past the blinding glow of the flashlight.

"It's me! Buddy!"

"Oh!" Dawn nearly collapsed. First with relief that it was "just" Buddy Barrett. Then with a jolt of fear because she was in B's lair. Buddy was there. Was Buddy B?

She did her best to remain outwardly calm as she collected herself inwardly.

"W-what are you doing here?" she asked, hoping she sounded as easy-breezy as she intended.

Buddy shrugged. "I come here all the time."

"You do?" Dawn heard her voice, high pitched and shrill. Not at all easy-breezy.

"Yeah...Me, Nicky Pike, Jackie Rodowsky, Nicky's new friend Mikey...a bunch of us." Buddy explained. "It's a cool hideout!"

"Oh..." Dawn began to relax. Buddy wasn't B. He was just a kid who found a cool secret hideout. Nothing scary about that.

"Do you ever see anyone else here?" Dawn asked. "Like maybe Ben Hobart...or Janine Kishi?"

Buddy looked at her like she was nuts. And maybe she was. "No. Just my friends."

"Okay," Dawn felt disappointed. For a second she had hoped she was going to break the case wide open.

"Wanna hang out?" Buddy asked. "It's really cool here!"

Dawn smiled. "No thanks, Buddy. I'd better get home. See you later!"

She climbed out of the secret passageway and headed home.

Nearby at the park, Kristy, Stacey and Claudia were still discussing the shadiness of Ben Hobart when they noticed the two detectives who had questioned them at Kristy's house. They were lingering at the perimeter of the park, looking in their direction, talking intently. After a few moments, they simply walked away.

"Weird," Kristy commented.

"So weird," Stacey agreed.

"Are they, like, following us and watching us now?" Claudia wondered.

"It certainly looks that way," Stacey huffed indignantly.

"What exactly do they think we did?" Claudia asked, "And why?"

"Clearly they think we killed Mallory," Kristy replied.

"Based on what evidence?" Stacey exclaimed with exasperation.

"Exactly," Kristy narrowed her eyes in anger. "They've got nothin'."

"Unless B is framing us," Stacey pointed out.

Kristy squared her jaw. "Watch David Michael and Andrew for a minute."

She popped up from the bench and proceeded to march over to the parking lot where the detectives were getting in their unmarked luxury sedan.

"Excuse me!" she bellowed.

The detectives exchanged looks and walked over to Kristy.

"If you guys are following us around trying to bust us for killing our friend, you're wasting your time!" Kristy told them. "You're not going to accuse us of murder!"

The detectives again exchanged looks. The unspoken communication between them was almost downright eerie. Detective Gossard gave a nod and Detective Jenkins spoke.

"We're not trying to accuse you of murder." The detective spoke tentatively. "We're trying to protect you."

Kristy was silent. The unexpected words seemed to take a long time to travel from her ears to her brain. And then it seemed to take even longer for her to process the words and grasp their meaning. _We're trying to protect you. Protect you._

"We cannot discuss the case," Detective Gossard explained. "All we can say is that we have a lead. A credible lead."

For once in her life, Kristy Thomas was bewildered into silence. She nodded weakly as the detectives said goodbye and drove away. Then she wandered back to her friends to relay the conversation she'd just had.

"Protect us?" Stacey repeated. "They have a credible lead and they want to protect _us_?"

Kristy nodded.

"So that must mean..." Claudia trailed off.

"It's someone close." Kristy completed the thought. "Really close."

Not far away, Mary Anne sat, paralyzed with fear, as Ben pulled his truck up to the cliff's edge. The cliff where Mallory had fallen to her death. Why had she shown up at Ben's house. She knew he was dangerous. How could she be so reckless? What had become of the timid little girl in braids? That Mary Anne never would have put herself in this situation.

Ben grabbed his gun, which had sat on his lap for the duration of the drive, and slung his backpack over one shoulder as he climbed out of the truck.

"Come on," he mumbled.

Mary Anne complied. As she walked, her legs felt heavy and wobbly – like jelly made out of iron. Her brain was telling her to run – to scream – to do something, anything to get away. But her body wouldn't and couldn't cooperate.

"This is where it happened," Ben spoke softly as he stood near the edge looking down. "This is where Mallory died."

 _And this is where I'm going to die, too_ , Mary Anne thought. _He's going to kill me._

"I'll never forgive myself," Ben continued, his voice catching a bit. He clutched his gun even tighter. "It was my fault. It didn't have to happen. None of it did. But...but things get hectic and confused...and I lost perspective. I couldn't see it as it was happening. I couldn't see her slipping away. I was...distracted. I took her for granted. And then she was gone."

Mary Anne was confused. It didn't sound like Ben was confessing to a murder. It sounded like he was recounting an accident.

"If I could go back in time, I could fix it all." Ben lamented, tears beginning to stream down his face.

"You can't change the past, Ben," Mary Anne spoke up, seeing a window of opportunity. "But you can control the present. You don't have to do this. You don't have to kill me."

"Kill you?" Ben turned to look at Mary Anne. "I don't want to kill you. I want to kill myself."

"Oh?" Mary Anne felt a brief millisecond of relief to know her life was going to be spared, but it was swiftly followed by an overwhelming sense of panic as she realized she had to stop Ben from killing himself.

"I need to be with Mallory. I need to tell her I'm sorry." Ben began to sob so hard his words were indecipherable.

"Why did you bring me here?" Mary Anne asked a few minutes later, when Ben's cries began to subside.

Ben shrugged. "I don't know. I guess I wanted someone to know the whole story. And you were there on my doorstep."

"Why don't you tell me the whole story, Ben," Mary Anne encouraged. She hoped that getting him to talk would buy her enough time to figure out how to talk him out of this.

Ben sat for a moment, wiping his tears and collecting his thoughts. Finally he spoke. "There was someone else. Mallory had been seeing someone else. She wouldn't tell me who or what was going on. We kept fighting about it. She said I wouldn't understand. But I knew – she was seeing some other guy behind my back."

"How long did you know about this other guy?" Mary Anne asked.

Ben shrugged. "I caught her writing a letter about a week before...before s-she died."

"Go on," Mary Anne encouraged.

"She kept telling me it wasn't what I thought, but she was going to meet this guy. She was writing him letters. I didn't like it." Ben took a deep breath. "And then that day I gave her an ultimatum – stop talking to that guy or we were through."

"What did she say?"

"She said the same thing she always said when the subject came up. She said it wasn't like that. She said I wasn't understand." Ben looked down for a moment. "So I had the bright idea to get drunk and hook up with someone else that night."

"Me." Mary Anne supplied.

"Right," Ben frowned deeply. "I just wanted to prove something, I guess. If Mallory was interested in another guy, I wanted to prove that I could get another girl. But it was wrong for so many reasons. It was wrong of me to do that to Mallory and it was wrong for me to take advantage of you."

"We were using each other that night," Mary Anne assured him. "It didn't mean anything."

"Yeah, but that's the messed up part," Ben's voice was shaky again. "It didn't mean anything, but it ended up costing Mallory her life."

"What happened exactly?" Mary Anne prodded. "I can't really remember anything."

"Well...you and I left the party together. We came here. Mallory found us here and ran off through the field." Ben recalled. "I chased her."

"Then what?"

"Then...I lost her. I never caught up to her. I ended up falling face first in a mud puddle. At least, I hope it was mud."

"Wait...so you didn't catch her?" Mary Anne was confused. "I thought you said you killed her."

Ben shook his head. "No. I said I'm responsible for what happened to her. It's my fault that she ran off and ended up in trouble."

"Where do you think she went?"

"To him. Whoever he is." Ben replied. "And he's the one who killed her."

"It's not your fault, Ben," Mary Anne insisted. "You and Mallory were having problems – and it's terrible that she was killed before you could resolve them. But you're confusing your guilt about that with guilt about her death."

"People think I killed her," Ben lamented.

"But you didn't!" Mary Anne exclaimed. "And if you kill yourself, the police will assume you did it. And the real killer may never be found. You need to stay alive to help solve this!"

To Mary Anne's surprise, her logic got through to Ben. His clenched face softened. His tense body relaxed. He nodded ever so slightly in agreement.

"It's okay, Ben," Mary Anne said soothingly. "It will be okay. You will be okay."

Ben nodded again and exhaled in a cathartic release, as if breathing out the torture he had placed upon himself.

"Get away from her!" a voice screamed from behind.

Mary Anne whirled around to see Logan Bruno. He was bowed up and ready to fight.

"Run, Mary Anne! Get in my car!" Logan commanded. "I'll take care of you!"

"What are you doing?" Mary Anne demanded angrily.

"I'm here to save you!" he replied.

"I don't need you to save me."

"Did he hurt you?" Logan asked, glaring at Ben.

"No, Logan," Mary Anne rolled her eyes. "We were just talking."

Logan clenched his jaw. "Are you dating him now?"

"That's none of your business, Logan."

"I'll always love you, Mary Anne!" Logan professed.

"Go to hell, Logan!" Mary Anne replied as she grabbed Ben by the arm and lead him back to his truck. They drove away, leaving Logan in a cloud of dust.

After ensuring Ben was safely at home, Mary Anne went back to her house. There were so many mysteries in her life at the moment. She was glad to have the night of Mallory's death mostly figured out...but there was one more mystery she was determined to solve. Immediately.

She walked through the front door and to her dad's office. He sat at his desk, mesmerized by a case file.

"Dad," Mary Anne interrupted. "We need to talk."

"Sure," Richard replied, barely glancing up from his file at his daughter.

She sat in the chair across from him, took a deep breath and spoke. "I want to know about Mrs. Porter."

Later that day, Claudia returned home from babysitting exhausted but $50 richer. She flopped down on her bed and reached for a box of marshmallow Peeps and a Harry Potter book she had hidden in the lampshade of her bedside table.

As she munched away and tried to read, she realized her mind wasn't on her book at all. It was on Janine.

All signs pointed to Janine being B. But could it be true? Claudia just couldn't wrap her brain around it.

"There has to be a clue," Claudia muttered to herself as she got up and crept toward Janine's room. No one was home, so it was another perfect opportunity to let her inner Nancy Drew investigate.

As usual, Janine's room was neat and clean. So, when Claudia found a stack of papers haphazardly shoved in a desk drawer, it was a surprise.

The papers were small yellow Post-It notes. And written on the notes were various phrases, all in the same black marker. Just like the note Mary Anne found in her school book. Just like the note Stacey found on her car window.

 _I saw you._

 _I know what you did._

 _You won't get away with this._

And about a dozen more pages with variations of the same sentiment.

"It's true," Claudia gasped. "My sister really is B!"


	13. Chapter 13

Mary Anne sat across from her father, ready for answers. She had heard him making a mysterious phone call. She had found evidence that he was paying large sums of money to Kristy's eccentric old neighbor. And she had a breakthrough memory of being in a car with Mrs. Porter. None of it made sense – and it was time for the truth.

"Mrs. Porter?" Richard Spier was visibly shaken. He put down the pen he was holding. He crossed his arms. Uncrossed them. Picked the pen back up.

"Yes," Mary Anne said. "Mrs. Tabitha Porter."

Richard quickly collected himself and shrugged. "I'm not sure what you mean, Mary Anne."

"Come on, dad," Mary Anne became impatient. "I need to know what's going on."

"Going on?" Richard continued to play dumb.

"Yes!" Mary Anne exclaimed. "Why are you paying her money every month? And why was I in the back of her car the night Mallory was murdered?"

Silence. Complete silence. Richard's face was frozen in a look of simultaneous surprise and fear. Surprise that Mary Anne knew so much. And fear that he was going to have to explain himself. He leaned forward, head in hands and took a few deep breaths.

Mary Anne waited what seemed like minutes for a reply. The clock on Richard's desk ticking louder and louder with each second, contrasting with the ticking of the grandfather clock in the hallway – and contrasting even further with the pounding of Mary Anne's own heart. It was maddeningly frenetic, like a drum line warming up before a parade.

Finally he spoke. "I knew this would come up eventually. I just didn't want it to be now. And not like this."

As he slowly raised his head up to look her in the eyes, Mary Anne saw a new expression emerge upon Richard's face. A look of pain. Deep, dark, long hidden pain.

"Can you let this go, please?" he begged. "Just trust me..."

"NO!" Mary Anne was adamant. "I need to know. I need to know now!"

"Okay," Richard seemed to deflate.

Mary Anne stared at him intently, not backing down. "Tell me, dad."

"Just know that I love you – and that I had the best intentions -"

"Just tell me!" she interjected angrily.

"Mary Anne," he said softly. "Mrs. Porter is your mother."

* * *

Meanwhile, Dawn was at the mall, shopping at Hollister to feel more in touch with California. As she left the store, she glanced into Spencer's gifts next door and saw a familiar face. Abby Stevenson.

Abby had joined the BSC after Dawn moved to California and replaced her as alternate officer. Dawn didn't know her very well, but she seemed like a nice girl. She wondered if she should say hello.

But then another thought occurred to her, stopping her dead in her tracks. Why hadn't Abby been blackmailed into rejoining the BSC? Abby had been as much a part of the group as Dawn had. Why had she been left out? And why had no one else questioned it?

One thing Dawn did know about Abby was that she had quite a sense of humor. What if she was behind the whole B thing as some sort of epic practical joke? Was that possible?

No, Dawn decided. Abby had been devastated by the loss of her own father. No way she would use Mallory's death as a springboard for a prank.

Then, perhaps, did she do it with sinister intentions? Dawn had a hard time believing that as well. Abby seemed like a genuinely nice person.

But, still, the rampant paranoia caused her to question everything and everyone. And the fact that Abby clearly wasn't being blackmailed like the rest of the BSC was certainly odd.

Before Dawn could jump to any more conclusions or concoct more theories, a guy in a gray hoodie approached Abby.

 _Beep beep beep._ Dawn's cellphone alerted her to a text message. It was from Mary Anne.

 _Come home NOW. 911._

Something was wrong. Mary Anne wasn't one for histrionics. If she texted 911, something bad was happening.

Dawn hurried home and found Mary Anne in her bedroom, curled up on the bed, catatonic.

"Are you okay?" Dawn asked. "What happened?"

"I don't even know where to start," Mary Anne managed to reply. She pulled herself up to face her sister. "Morbidda Destiny is my mother."

"What?" Dawn dropped her Hollister bag to the floor, her bottle of Sol Dreamer perfume falling against her Birkenstock clad foot.

"My dad just told me everything," Mary Anne sniffled a bit, but seemed too shocked for tears.

"I don't understand?" Dawn collapsed onto the bed beside her sister.

"When my dad was in college, he did yard work and odd jobs around town for extra money," Mary Anne explained. "One year, during winter break, he did a lot of work for a wealthy couple - Mrs. Porter and her husband. According to my dad, the husband was a really awful man. He was abusive toward Mrs. Porter – both emotionally and physically. And he traveled a lot for business. It was right around Christmas. He was gone for two months. Mrs. Porter was sad and lonely...and she ended up having an affair. With my dad."

"Are you serious?" Dawn balked.

Mary Anne nodded sedately. "She got pregnant. With me. She hid it as long as she could. Mr. Porter would have known the baby wasn't his since he'd been out of the country when I was conceived."

"Then what happened?" Dawn couldn't believe her ears.

"Remember that story Charlie Thomas told us? About Mrs. Porter going missing?"

Dawn nodded. "He said she was kidnapped."

"She faked a kidnapping so she could leave town to have me." Mary Anne told her. "Then she returned to town, left me with my father, and returned home to her husband."

"Wow, Mary Anne," Dawn marveled. "I can't believe it!"

"Mr. Porter died a couple years later," Mary Anne continued. "And Mrs. Porter went a little crazy. Apparently she tried to get me back, but my dad didn't think she was mentally fit to be around me. He even suspected that she killed her husband. So he started paying her to stay away."

"Unbelievable!" Dawn gasped.

"My dad decided to tell me my mom died instead of telling me the truth," Mary Anne's voice wavered slightly. "And the truth is that I am the product of an affair between my father and a crazy older woman."

"I'm so sorry, Mary Anne."

Mary Anne stood up and walked over to the window, gazing out pensively. "It explains some stuff, actually. All of the issues I've had the past couple years. The depression. The anxiety. The mental instability. I guess it's hereditary."

Dawn didn't know what to say. What should one say when their bff finds out a crazy old witch is their real mother? It was unimaginable.

"It explains why my dad never liked me going to Kristy's house. And it explains why Mrs. Porter was always peering out her window...and why I woke up in her car the night I passed out," Mary Anne reasoned. "She wasn't allowed to be part of my life, but she still wanted to watch over me."

"What are you going to do?" Dawn asked. "Are you going to see her?"

"I don't know," Mary Anne blanched. "I need time to process it all."

"I'm here for you," Dawn assured her.

"Thanks," Mary Anne replied. "I know I haven't said it or acted like it, but I'm glad you're back in Stoneybrook."

"I just wish it was under better circumstances," Dawn frowned.

"We'll find out who B is," Mary Anne insisted. "And we'll find out who killed Mallory. I know we will."

* * *

A few blocks away, Kristy rang Claudia's doorbell. Claudia ushered her in.

"Is anyone here?" Kristy whispered.

"Nope," Claudia replied. "Coast is clear!"

"Did you get it?" Kristy asked eagerly.

"Got it!" Claudia held out a stack of papers. "I called the cellphone provider, pretended to be my mom, and got a list of all the numbers called from all of the phones on our plans."

"Great! Let's look at Janine's!"

Claudia separated two pages from the stack and handed them to Kristy. "As far as I can tell, it's just a few calls to boring places like the library and dozens of calls to Charlie."

Kristy frowned and glanced over the list.

"Maybe she has a secret second phone," Claudia suggested. "Like a burner phone or whatever."

"Wait a second!" Kristy interrupted. "Claudia...All of these aren't to Charlie's phone. Charlie's is 6772. Most of these are 6773..."

"So...that means..."

"Majority of the calls Janine was making weren't to Charlie..." Kristy paused dramatically, "...They were to Sam!"

* * *

Across town, Stacey gave an impatient sigh as she sat in the Thomas/Brewer living room, waiting for Sam. She scrolled through Instagram. Checked Twitter. Took a few selfies. Looked through Snapchat. Just as she was about to make a desperate log-in to Facebook, a text message alert popped up.

It was from an unknown number.

 _Ever wonder what's really wrong with Sam's car? You should check it out. - B_

She reread the text message several times. As much as she tried to dismiss it, the words nagged at her. She replayed them in her mind as she moved unconsciously through the house. Sam's car had been broken down...though no explanation of exactly what the problem was had ever been given. A frightening reality Stacey hadn't wanted to acknowledge before was now unavoidable. She opened the door to the garage and walked slowly toward Sam's car, which had a black car cover draped over it. She felt like a hammer was beating on her chest as she walked around the vehicle – and finally pulled back the cover.

Stacey struggled to get a full breath as she forced herself to face the dreaded truth. Sam's car had been broken down since the night Mallory died. And there, before her eyes, on hood of the car, was a deep dent. A cracked windshield. And a faint splatter of blood.

* * *

And across town, a frantic call came in to the Stoneybrook Police Department.

"My daughter is missing!" a mother cried.

"What is her name, ma'am?"

"Her name is Abby. Abby Stevenson."


	14. Chapter 14

Stacey made her way back to the living room, unable to believe what she had just seen. Sam's car – the car he'd flippantly referred to as "broken down" since the night Mallory died - was dented and splattered with blood.

Sam hit Mallory. The evidence was there. Stacey knew it.

But she didn't know what to do with the information. Confront Sam? Run like hell out the front door, drive away, and call the cops?

"Hey, Stacey!" a figure appeared in front of her, startling her. She stifled a scream as she realized it was just Charlie.

"Oh, hi..." She tried to play it cool.

"Janine and I are going out for dinner. You and Sam wanna go with us? Janine's in the bathroom freshening up, but we'll be ready to go in, like, five minutes."

Stacey's mind raced. "Oh...um...No...I...I actually have to go...Family emergency." She fibbed.

Charlie shrugged, "Maybe next time."

As Stacey whirled around to leave, her phone rang. It was Kristy.

"Are you and Sam still at my house?" she asked.

"Yes," Stacey replied. "But I'm leaving-"

"Are Charlie and Janine there?"

"Yes."

"Stay there – keep them all there," Kristy commanded. "The rest of us are on the way."

"But, Kristy," Stacey argued, "There's something-"

"Just do it," Kristy insisted. "It's important. Really important. We'll explain everything when we get there."

Before Stacey could protest more, Kristy hung up.

Stacey felt trapped. And even more anxious and confused than before. Kristy had sounded serious, so she felt compelled to follow orders.

"Um...ya know," Stacey did her best to exude charm and calm coolness as she strode back toward Charlie. "There is this show that you guys just have to see. Where's the remote?"

"I thought you had a family emergency?" Charlie said as he pointed toward the remote on the coffee table.

"Oh...uh...False alarm."

Just then, Janine came into the room. She shot a tense look at Stacey. Stacey responded with a friendly smile.

"I just cannot remember what channel it's on," Stacey muttered, scrolling through the channel guide as slowly as possible to waste time. "But, seriously, you have got to see it."

Out of the corner of her eye, Stacey saw Janine cross her arms in agitation. She heard her emit an impatient sigh. Charlie shrugged helplessly in reply. And then Sam bounded down the stairs and strode into the room.

"Ready?" he asked her hurriedly. "Let's go."

"Just a sec," she stalled, smiling sweetly and batting her eyes. "I want to show you guys this show. It's so crazy..."

As Sam, Charlie and Janine exchanged annoyed glances, Stacey continued going back and forth through the channels. And just when she thought she couldn't prolong the ruse any longer, Kristy, Claudia, Mary Anne and Dawn walked in.

"I'm glad you're all here," Kristy began ceremoniously. "Because I have a few questions to ask."

"What's up?" Charlie asked.

"Well..." Kristy sauntered across the room like a lawyer in a courtroom during a cross-examination, stopping in front of Claudia's sister. "We'd like to know why Janine called Sam 47 times last month."

Janine went pale. Sam went pale. Stacey's jaw dropped. Charlie looked utterly dumbstruck.

"Well?" Kristy prodded, glaring at Janine.

"I...I...I..." Janine looked frantically to Sam.

"We've been seeing each other for a couple months," Sam admitted, looking down at the floor. He didn't dare look Charlie or Stacey in the eye.

"I'm sorry," Janine cried quietly to Charlie.

"You've been cheating on me with my brother?" Charlie was enraged.

"I never meant for it to happen," Janine explained. "And, honestly, it was just a one time thing..."

"Forty-seven phone calls!" Kristy argued.

"She's right," Sam defended. "Technically, we only cheated once. The phone calls were...something else."

"Something else?" Kristy paced over to Sam. "Like part of a conspiracy to blackmail the Babysitters Club?"

"Huh?" Sam was genuinely befuddled.

"You're B, aren't you?" Kristy whirled around to face Janine.

"What?" Janine was equally befuddled.

"You're the one who has been following us. Texting us. Threatening us!" Kristy accused boldly. "You're B!"

Janine shook her head and wiped a tear from her cheek. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"She's not B," Stacey interjected. "And neither is Sam."

Everyone turned to face Stacey.

"They're not B," she took a deep breath. "But they did kill Mallory."

The room went silent. No one spoke. No one moved. No one seemed to even breath.

Finally, Stacey let loose. "You killed her, Sam! I saw your car! The dent, the broken glass, the blood. You hit Mallory! The place she died is where everybody goes to park and make out. I certainly wasn't with you that night. You were cheating on me with Janine and you killed my friend!"

And then Stacey walked up to Sam and slapped him. Hard.

"Is that true?" Kristy asked.

Eventually, Sam nodded. Janine slowly nodded, too.

"Oh, Janine!" Claudia gasped.

"It was an accident," Janine explained through uncontrollable sobs. "We thought we hit a deer..or a dog...or some kind of large animal. We didn't realize it was her until later. We didn't mean to hurt her! We didn't mean to!"

"But you did," Charlie snapped. "Accident or not, you killed someone. You have to turn yourselves in."

"I know," Janine wept. "We've just been so scared...and so horrified by what happened."

"You should be," Kristy commented coldly.

"How long have you known?" Janine asked.

"For about...an hour," Claudia replied, glancing at the giant clock she was wearing on a chain around her neck.

"So you aren't the ones who were leaving notes on my car?"

"That would be B," Claudia replied, remembering the pile of post-it notes in Janine's desk drawer. "It's the same person who has been threatening us. We don't know who it is."

"But..." Kristy got that crazy look in her eye. "Janine can help us find out."

"What? Seriously?" Stacey was practically breathing fire as she glared at Janine. And Sam.

"Janine's the smartest person we know," Kristy explained. "She can do all kinds of computer hacking stuff. She can trace B for us. Can't you, Janine?"

Janine shrugged. "It should be relatively simple. I would first -"

Kristy held up a hand to silence her. "We don't need to know how the sausage is made, Janine. Just do whatever you have to do to find B. Then you and Sam can go to the police and confess your role in what happened to Mallory."

Janine nodded sullenly. Sam continued to stare at the floor, stricken by shame and regret.

"Oh my God!" Dawn exclaimed – pointing at the television.

The words on the screen said 'Stoneybrook Teen Missing'. The picture on the screen was Abby Stevenson.

There wasn't much information available. All investigators knew was that she had gone to mall with her sister, Anna. They split up so Anna could browse in the music store while Abby went her own way. They were supposed to meet at the fountain in the center of the mall at 2:30, but Abby never showed up.

"I saw her!" Dawn wailed. "I saw her at the mall this afternoon!"

The others bombarded her with questions. "What time did you see her?" "Was she alone?" "What store was she in?"

"It was about two o'clock," Dawn replied. "She was in Spencer's."

And then Dawn went pale. She remembered how she wondered why Abby wasn't being harassed by B. She remembered the guy in the hoodie who approached Abby.

"You guys!" she shrieked. "I think Abby is with B!"

She explained everything she had thought and seen.

"It makes sense, right?" she asked, looking around at her friends.

"It actually does," Kristy nodded.

"Wait," Claudia clarified. "Are we saying Abby is working with B? Or that Abby has been kidnapped by B?"

"It could be either," Kristy answered grimly.

"We'd better work fast, then!" Janine noted. "My laptop at home has all the software I need to trace B."

"Take my phone," Claudia tossed her cell to her sister. "All the texts from B are there."

"Call us as soon as you find out anything," Kristy instructed.

"You're just going to let her go?" Stacey was incredulous. "She could totally bolt right now!"

Kristy rolled her eyes. "Janine is harmless, Stacey. B is the dangerous one. And Janine can help us find him."

"If she finds him first, she may hook up with him," Stacey retorted with a catty sneer.

Janine left. Charlie went to his room. Sam went to his room. The BSC remained. They alternated between talking nervously about the whole bizarre situation and sitting in silence, each wrapped up in their own horror-filled thoughts.

"I'm calling the police and telling them about the guy in the hoodie," Dawn decided.

"It's time for B to get caught," Mary Anne agreed. "We made peace with Jessi. Mallory's so-called murder is solved. His game is over."

Dawn called the police and was given the number of a tip line. The tip line consisted of an automated voice directing her to leave a message.

"Ridiculous!" she lamented. "My information is really important, yet it will get lost among a thousand bogus tips."

"We'll solve this on our own if we have to," Kristy declared. "Janine will be calling any minute with the information we need."

An agonizing forty-five minutes later, Kristy's phone rang.

"I traced B's location," she said, her voice laced with apprehension.

"And?" Kristy urged impatiently.

"I traced B's IP address," Janine disclosed, "It's coming from...the Pike's house."


	15. Chapter 15

"I knew it!" Kristy proclaimed as Stacey sped toward the Pike's house. "After I found that weird bunker in the Pike's basement, I knew it had something to do with B!"

"This is crazy!" Claudia spoke up from the backseat, where she was eating an ice cream sandwich while sandwiched between Dawn and Mary Anne.

"I know," Mary Anne agreed. "It doesn't make sense. I feel like we're missing something."

"Yeah," Dawn agreed. "Someone was close enough to Mallory to be her confidant, so clearly it was someone she trusted...yet they're shady enough to hide in the Pike's basement and threaten all of us."

"Obviously we're not dealing with a normal, balanced person," Stacey reminded them. "This person has issues."

"Right," Kristy confirmed. "And we have to figure out who they are before things get worse."

"I think they already have," Claudia lamented. "B abducted Abby in broad daylight."

"Why Abby?" Stacey wondered. "B had ample opportunity to take any of us. But he chose Abby."

"Or maybe not," Kristy considered. "Abby was part of the BSC just like the rest of us. But she didn't show up the day B first texted us to meet after Mal's funeral."

"Well, one of B's main threats was exposing the Jessi thing," Stacey recalled, "But Abby quit the BSC months before the Jessi thing. It would've been easy for her to dismiss the threats."

"She didn't take the bait like the rest of us did," Kristy nodded. "Maybe she refused to play by B's rules and that's why she's paying a bigger price."

"Or maybe she didn't wrong Mallory like the rest of us did," Mary Anne suggested.

The group fell silent, absorbing that notion – and the weight of their individual, seemingly small and meaningless actions and indiscretions – as they pulled up to the Pike's house.

If one little thing had thing had been different, Mallory might not have died. While Sam and Janine were the only ones directly responsible for her accidental death, the rest of them played a part in Mallory being where she was at the time she was and in the state of mind she was. And though each girl knew it was impossible to live life assuming every action held life or death consequences, it was hard to ignore that, in hindsight, theirs had.

"The house is dark," Claudia noticed. "Looks like no one's home."

"We don't need to go in the front door," Kristy reminded them. "B doesn't."

She led them around the house to the small ground-level window, hidden behind a rose bush, leading to the basement. The window was still propped open.

One at a time, the girls slid inside and found themselves barricaded by boxes in the far corner of the Pike's basement.

"So B comes here to steal the Pike's wi-fi?" Stacey clarified.

Kristy shrugged, "I guess. Maybe Mallory set it up for him? I mean, if he really was her close friend, maybe she let him stay here?"

"And the rest of the Pikes had no idea." Claudia surmised.

"Ding ding ding! Right answer!" a male voice exclaimed. An familiar – yet unfamiliar - face popped up from behind a box. It looked like a male version of Mallory.

The BSC jumped, startled, and congregated in a frightened huddle against the wall.

"We finally meet face to face! Such a pleasure." the boy feigned enthusiasm, but his eyes were full of contempt.

"Who are you?" Dawn demanded, voice shaking.

"Hello, I'm Mike. But you might know me better as B," he stepped out from behind the box holding a hammer. "B for brother. B for bastard. Take your pick."

The words lingered for a moment. B for brother? B for bastard? What did that mean? Who was Mike?

"Oh my God!" Kristy went pale. "You're Mike Pike?"

"Heard of me?" Mike looked only mildly flattered as he sneered.

"I...I remember," Kristy stammered. "One summer Mallory started talking about an older brother named Mike. Like it was some big secret. I thought it was just an imaginary friend, but...you're real?"

"Am I?" Mike's expression became stony and cold. "Not according to good ol' mom and dad. They didn't want me. They gave me away. Claimed they weren't ready for marriage and kids. They thought I'd be better off with someone else. But they were wrong. I ended up with awful parents. Asshole dad left us when I was two. Selfish bitch of a mom left me with babysitters while she went out and partied every night. When I was twelve, she came home drunk and told me about my real parents. So I tracked them down...only to find out they had not one, not two, but eight kids. Eight freakin' kids. But they couldn't keep me? Do you know how that feels?"

"Oh, wow, Mike...I...we..." Kristy struggled to find words to diffuse Mike's anger.

"It feels like hell," Mike growled. "A living hell."

"One day I met Mallory at the park," Mike continued. "She was kind and accepting. She was more than a sister; she was a true friend. She understood how I felt. She felt ostracized by the family, just like me. So she was willing to keep my secret."

The girls listened nervously, unsure of how loose of a canon Mike actually was as he clutched that hammer in his hands.

"But it wasn't just her family that hurt her," Mike went on. "It was her so-called friends, too. All of you."

"We never meant to hurt her, Mike," Stacey insisted.

"We loved Mallory," Claudia chimed in.

"You didn't love her!" Mike bellowed, his face redder and voice louder with each word. "I loved her. I was the only one who was truly loyal to her. And she was all I had. And now she's gone!"

"It was a terrible accident," Mary Anne said gently.

"An accident at the hands of selfish people," Mike retorted. "You, Ben, Kristy's idiot brother and Claudia's slut sister...I want you all to suffer. I want you to be tortured by the guilt. I want you to fear for your lives!"

"This ends now, Mike," Kristy crossed her arms, tough and defiant. "The police are on their way. It's over."

"Is it?" Mike smirked. "Because Abby's still missing. And if the police take me, no one will ever know where she is."

The girls exchanged glances, unsure of how to react.

"Abby's my friend now," Mike said. "She's not Mallory, but she's an acceptable replacement."

"She doesn't want to be with you!" Dawn exclaimed. "You kidnapped her!"

"No," Mike shook his head emphatically. "She liked me. We talked. She was nice. She will be my friend."

Mike's level of delusion was apparent. The poor boy had been mistreated growing up. He had been abandoned time and time again. He was so desperate to connect with someone that he had crossed the line from desperate to dangerous.

Kristy made a move, trying to dart past B. He stepped swiftly in front of her, wielding his hammer.

"Let us go," Kristy demanded.

"No," Mike answered coldly.

"What are you going to do to us?" Claudia meekly asked.

"I don't know yet," Mike responded.

"Please don't hurt us!" Dawn begged.

"Why not?" Mike narrowed his eyes and hovered over the huddled babysitters. "I've got nothing to lose."

"The police are on their way," Kristy reminded him. "Don't make things worse for you than they already are."

Mike glanced around frantically. He was beyond reason now.

Mary Anne and Claudia began to cry, which seemed to agitate Mike even more. He began pacing, fidgeting manically.

"Turn yourself in," Kristy urged, "We'll help you out of this."

"No," Mike's voice sounded evil. Possessed. Scary. His expression was colder and far darker than before. He raised his hammer and began to lunge toward the girls. His eyes were clouded with hurt and fury as prepared to take his first swing.

And then a shot rang out, coming from the window through which the girls had entered. The window that was just inches above their heads. Someone had come to their rescue!

Mike Pike fell to the ground with a guttural howl, blood flowing from his right shoulder.

"Run, girls! Run!" a voice called from outside the window. They turned to see a familiar face looking back at them. It was Morbidda Destiny. Mrs. Porter. Mary Anne's mother.

Mary Anne stood frozen for a moment, looking at the woman who had given birth to her. All these years, her father had told her that her mom was watching over her. And she was. She really was. Just not in the way Mary Anne had imagined. Her mom wasn't some angel in heaven. Her mom was a real person who had been literally watching over her all her life. And at this moment when she and her friends needed it most, there she was.

"Run, Mary Anne!" Mrs. Porter urged.

The BSC ran by Mike, around the piles of boxes, up the basement stairs, and out the front door. But they didn't stop running. They all knew exactly where to go. They continued on until they reached Dawn's old secret passage -aka B's lair.

It had to be where Mike had taken Abby. It was the only logical place.

Kristy yanked open the hatch, Dawn jumped in, Stacey and Claudia turned on their cellphone flashlight apps.

"Abby!" Mary Anne called out.

There was a faint, muffled reply. Stacey and Claudia turned their lights in the direction of the sound.

And there was Abby, tied up at the end of the passageway with tape over her mouth. Dirt was caked up on her tear stained face. Her wrists and ankles were raw from trying desperately to escape the tape binding them.

She was terrified. But she was okay. They all were.

The paramedics took Abby to the hospital as a precaution. The police escorted Mike Pike to hospital to treat his minor gunshot wound. Upon their return home moments later, the Pike family was stunned, to say the least. They generously declined to press charges against Sam and Janine before hurrying off to reunite with their estranged son in a high security mental health facility, where he would get the counseling he desperately needed.

"It's over," Dawn exhaled.

"Now what?" Claudia asked weakly.

"Now...life goes on," Kristy replied.

"Life will never be the same again," Stacey said.

"Nothing will," Mary Anne added.

B was gone. Abby was safe. Mallory's mysterious death was solved. After living in fear and paranoia for as long as they had, the BSC didn't know how to feel about moving forward. Certainly it was a relief, but there was a sadness. They had lost a good friend they had taken for granted. Their flaws and secrets and poor choices had been exposed. Moving past the trauma would be difficult. But they were strong. They were resilient. They were the Babysitters Club.


End file.
